The Blind Leading the Blind
by TheKoolOne
Summary: This story concerns Jacob Black's life if he had never met Bella Swan. Instead he imprints on a blind dog trainer... and the fun begins!
1. Chapter 1

_JACOB:_

_When I first saw her, all I thought was… __Wow. Double wow. Triple wow. _

Okay, well, that's not the only thing I thought. I may have also been thinking, _Sheesh, that's a _lot _of freaking dogs. _'Cause she was surrounded by the things. Tall, short, skinny, tubby, huge Great Dane types, fluffy poodle-types… I'd seen people with that many dogs before. Usually they were teenagers walking them for money. They would be pulling on the leashes constantly, yelping and peeing on every fire hydrant in sight.

Not so with her dogs. I'd been staring at them long enough to get a head count and there were eleven of them. They were walking in orderly rows on either side of her, with a large German Shepherd stalking directly behind her. By the time I had surveyed her dogs at my leisure, she was already halfway down the black, long auburn ponytail waving down below her waist as she walked. How lucky - she was going directly towards my car, parked in the lot of Fork's small grocery store.

I jogged quietly down the sidewalk, squinting in the light drizzle that pattered from the gloomy sky. I quickly caught up and slowed to a walk a few paces behind the German Shepherd. The girl was wearing a long, colorful skirt that was obviously supposed to be loose and flowing. Apparently she hadn't realized that the damp conditions had glued the skirt firmly to her legs, leaving nothing to the imagination. I almost couldn't tear my eyes away.

We had reached the store and I jogged over to my Rabbit. I grinned when the girl turned in towards the store, her orderly array of dogs anticipating her turn with ease. I didn't know why I was so fascinated by this girl - except for the fact that she had a bazillion dogs - but I was determined to introduce myself. She was definitely new to Forks. I was surprised that I hadn't heard of her arrival yet. But then, sometimes we got news later down at La Push.

I still couldn't get a glimpse of her face as she came towards the store. I lounged against the car, leaning my legs out in front and folding my arms. I knew what a picture I made when I lounged. The girl didn't even look up. I gritted my teeth, frustrated. How could she miss me? I was huge, twice as tall as her and more ripped than any human male; a fact emphasized by the fact that I wasn't wearing a shirt. Why wasn't she looking?

She was at the door, now - just standing there, waiting as her dogs politely fanned out single file to either side. Only the German Shepherd remained with her. I sighed and straightened. This was getting out of hand. I decided to take affirmative action and walked forward toward her, clearing my throat noisily.

"Excuse me, miss," I said as I came up behind her. I didn't know what to say next so I stuck my hands into the pockets of my shorts and looked around awkwardly. She still hadn't turned around.

"Yes? What is it?" Her light, clear voice sent a thrill through me, shaking me to the bone. I felt a flash of heat along my spine and reigned it in firmly. Now was not a good time to phase.

"Um… do you need someone to watch your dogs while you shop?" I asked desperately.

The German Shepherd looked me over, recognizing my own inner wolf self. I gazed deep into his eyes, giving him my carefully cultivated Alpha glare. It worked. He lowered his eyes, whining in submission, then turned to his mistress and wagged his tail three times. It was like some sort of signal - as soon as she felt his tail against her legs she finally - _finally! - _turned to face me. I looked at her from bottom to top, slowly taking her all in. Her long, shapely legs showed through her wet skirt and her black T-shirt clung to her upper body. Across the front, in a strategic area, was written "The blind lead the blind all the time and nobody gets lost." Her neck - long and white and smooth. Chin - pointed and delicate. Lips - rosy and soft. Cheeks - pale pink, sprinkled with freckles. Beautiful. Eyes - and that's where I stopped. It was like being punched in the gut by Paul or Embry, only a lot more pleasant. I took an involuntary step forward, drawn inexorably by those soft, green depths. They pulled at me, beckoning with a siren call.

As I stared into her eyes I came to two separate life-changing realizations. First: I had imprinted on this lovely, dog-crazy girl. Second: she was blind, so she couldn't really imprint back. So to speak.

HEATHER:

I widened my eyes, staring at the blank, empty space where the voice had come from, hoping the grey mists would clear at last and I'd be able to see the stranger. I clenched my fists and concentrated hard, blowing at the mist with my mind's eye. No good. Sighing, I relaxed and blinked several times. I always had to remind myself to blink - it never made any difference to me, but they said if I didn't blink my eyes would dry out and then there'd never be any hope. For sight.

Something about this stranger's voice sent a thrill through me and renewed my frustration at my blindness. I felt a niggling sensation at the back of my mind - like it was really, really important that I be able to _see_ this man. Then I shook my head - he was talking again.

"Um… do you need someone to watch your dogs while you shop?"

The more he spoke the deeper that thrill went, striking to the very core of my bones. It was so deep, and full, and throbbing. He sounded sort of desperate, though. Weird.

Well, Meth had said he was okay - we had a signal system worked out - so I figured it was all right. Hopefully I could get out of the encounter without him figuring out I was blind, though. That was always embarrassing.

"That's all right, thank you," I returned, trying to keep my voice steady. I hoped to heaven he hadn't moved, because I was staring fixedly at where the voice had first come from. "They're very well behaved, as you see." I gestured to either side of me where I knew the dogs would be standing, looking at him and panting. Secretly I exulted in the fact that he was willing to watch all my dogs - he must like animals, then.

"Ah, yes." He cleared his throat and shifted from foot to foot. I was glad he was as uncomfortable as I was - it put us on somewhat equal footing. "You've got a lot of dogs here," he said awkwardly.

I couldn't suppress a grimace. Typical line, there. "Well observed," I congratulated him sarcastically.

"Sorry, I guess that was sort of obvious," he said. I could hear the smile in his voice and I wished desperately I could just _see_. For one minute.

"That's all right," I assured him. "I've got some shopping to do, though. Excuse me." I turned exactly ninety degrees and took one step forward. By my calculations, the door should be right here… I stepped on something warm and furry and fell backward heavily. As I fell, I bit my lip to suppress my cursing. I knew it wasn't one of my dogs - they knew better than to get underfoot - so it must be a stray cat or something. I hoped it wasn't hurt.

I braced myself for the smack of cold cement. When I fell I completely lost all sense of direction, so I didn't know which way to turn to catch myself. One of the many curses of blindness. Then - surprise - I felt two enormous, calloused hands braced against my back. I could feel the strength and power running through those hands, and the heat that burned through my damp shirt. I scrambled to regain my footing and only succeeded in stepping on his foot - he wasn't wearing shoes - and falling back against his chest. I gasped at the burning heat and the writhing muscles under his warm skin. I wrenched away from his enormous hands and stared wildly around, trying again to see him.

"Are you… naked?" I asked breathlessly.

He laughed, the sound rumbling out of his chest like a train emerging from a tunnel. "No, but I could be if you wanted."

Ugh. "No thanks," I said quickly, turning away. Then I stopped, curiosity overcoming me. "Are you sick?"

"Excuse me?" he asked politely, puzzled tone in his voice.

"Your skin is so hot - I thought perhaps you had a fever," I explained.

"Oh. Nope, no fever," he said cheerfully.

"Aren't you cold without a shirt, in this weather?" I asked, frowning.

"Aren't you cold in this weather with only a skirt on T-shirt?" he countered triumphantly.

As a matter of fact… no, I wasn't. I certainly had been before, but I could still feel the burning warmth of his hands against my back, and that warmed me to the core. The size of his hands was another thing I was curious about. I figured - since life had cursed me so roundly already - I could afford to be a little rude.

"How tall are you?" I asked.

He laughed again - I had a feeling he did that frequently. "Well over six feet, and that's all you need to know."

I frowned, shaking my head. "Are you sure you're not well over seven feet?"

He stopped laughing abruptly. "How could you tell?"

"Your hands. My father is six feet five inches tall and his hands aren't nearly as big as yours," I explained, feeling foolish. What seeing person would notice the size of somebody's hands?

"Ah. Well, you're right. I'm seven two," he said quietly. I had a feeling he was staring at me intently, and it made me uncomfortable.

I shifted from foot to foot, then sighed and held out my hand. "Well, thank you very much for catching me," I said. I waited for his hand to engulf mine, and blinked when I felt my shoulders gripped in his iron fingers. He turned me gently thirty degrees. I blushed.

"You were a little off," he said, and I heard the teasing lilt in his voice.

Oh, well. Now he knew. There was no help for it. "Yeah, I'm blind. It's recent," I explained. "But I'm getting better. It's just hard to keep track of where I am when I fall."

"You do a very good impression of a seeing person," he offered. "I'm Jacob Black, by the way. I live down at La Push, on the reservation."

"Oh, that's wonderful," I said. "I've always loved the ocean, especially since… yes, well. The sound is very soothing, don't you think?"

"The waves, the salt, the driftwood, the clouds," Jacob - I savored his name on my tongue - Jacob said enthusiastically.

"Exactly," I agreed, smiling.

"You're new in town, aren't you?" he asked curiously.

I could tell he was going for my name and personal information. He could just die of curiosity for all I cared. "Yep," I said cheerfully. I carefully turned again and started towards the door. Meth ran around me and nosed out the door. I followed his sniffing noises and found the handle.

"Look - I don't know how you usually do this sort of thing, but I'd be happy to help you out if you'd like," Jacob offered from behind me.

"Help me shop?" I asked, dubious.

I felt a wave of heat pass me as his bare feet padded against the wet cement. The door creaked as he opened it and stood expectantly, waiting. Meth was just standing there - she must really like this guy. "Sure, why not?"

I knew why not. Because he was an enormous, muscled, hot, Native American stranger with no shirt on who might be a rapist in disguise for all I knew. Because I was incredibly attracted to him and I really felt like I needed to see him, just once. Because I was small and scared and blind and… well, I hated to say it, but… practically helpless, except for my dogs. And Meth wouldn't be any help here, obviously.

Before I could try to explain all this to Jacob, I heard Mrs. Dangly's voice behind me. "Jacob Black, shut that door this minute! You're letting the rain in."

I heard her approaching across the floor, heels tapping impatiently on the linoleum. "Good morning, Mrs. Dangly," I said politely. I stepped past Jacob Black and into the warm store, sighing in relief. Meth followed closely behind me, and Jacob followed close behind Meth.

"Sorry, Mrs. Dangly," he said, deep voice especially loud in the quiet of the store. "It's not my fault that this girl here is exceptionally confused."

I blushed again and brushed my hand against Meth's coat, trying to draw comfort from the familiar wet coat of my favorite dog.

"How did you meet Heather, Jacob?" Mrs. Dangly asked curiously. She was a gossip and a meddler, but kind at heart and a good judge of character. I relaxed somewhat, knowing that these two knew each other. Jacob must be all right, then.

"Well, we haven't officially been introduced," Jacob drawled back. I heard him turn towards me and the heat of his hand approached. I felt around in front of me, trying to locate it, before I felt him clasp my hand gently in both of his. I gasped again, staggered by the warmth. "I'm Jacob Black," he prompted. I heard the grin in his voice and couldn't suppress a smile in return. He was so likeable.

"I'm Heather Champion," I returned, shaking his hand firmly before drawing away from his grip. I liked it far too much for my own good.

"Heather… Champion…" He seemed to be tasting the words on his tongue. I blushed at the feeling that rushed through me as his rich voice rumbled out my name. "Heather Champion, I would love to help you shop today."

"Oh, would you?" Mrs. Dangly interrupted us eagerly. "Usually I'm glad to help the poor dear, but I'm dreadfully busy just now."

I frowned, recognizing that crafty tone of voice. She was trying to set me up with Jacob Black! I couldn't believe it.

"Sure, sure," Jacob said distractedly, attention still focused on me. "Like I said, I'd love to help you out, Heather."

"Um, thank you," I said, giving up. I couldn't do it by myself - I wasn't familiar enough with the store yet. I mentally swore to get acquainted with the area as soon as possible so I could refuse help from nerve-wracking strangers next time.


	2. Chapter 2

**JACOB**

I stood for a moment, unsure of what to do now. "Why don't you tell me what you need and I'll lead you to it?" I suggested after a minute.

She nibbled her soft lips for a moment, that same pink blush stealing over her cheeks. She got embarrassed easily, I noticed. I was so glad I'd imprinted on such a beautiful girl. Embry had imprinted on a regular ogre of a girl - I never thought that in front of him, though. If I had I'd be dead bye now.

"Well…" Her voice was soft, hesitant. She turned away and I saw her reach up and dig around in the neck of her shirt.

I grinned, shaking my head. She'd stored her list in her bra. Typical girl. She turned back to me, staring wide-eyed at the ground, lips moving silently as she counted degrees. It was interesting to see how every step she took was calculated, counted, measured. I wondered if she was into math. As she faced me again, her face was really rosy now. Her delicate fingers clasped a stiff piece of white paper with raised dots - Braille. She ran her fingers across the top of the paper, frowned, and ran them across the same area again. Then a slight smile flashed across her lips. I caught my breath - when that sad expression was banished she was even more beautiful.

"Sorry," she said, brow furrowed in concentration. "I'm still getting used to the whole Braille thing, and my machine thing sometimes malfunctions. It felt like this said 'barfs,' but I think I meant to write 'scarf.'" She shook her head, smile widening.

When I found my voice again, I gulped and smiled back. "An understandable mistake," I said. Reaching out, I ignored the dog's baleful glare as I grabbed her hand and led her to the back of the store. There was a long rack of colorful scarves there and I hesitated. "Um, what kind do you want?"

"Long, wool, any color except pink or red," she said briefly.

"Why not pink or red?" I asked as I surveyed the choices.

"Because of my hair." She gestured to the damp, curling ponytail cascading down her back. "Reddish hair doesn't go with those colors."

"I… I really like your hair," I offered, suddenly shy.

She blushed deeply and her sculpted eyebrows drew together briefly. "Thanks," she murmured softly to the floor.

I turned back to the scarves and groaned. I was a guy, for goodness sake. I reached into the middle of a bunch of blue scarves and drew out a random one. It was dark blue, long and soft. I draped it around her neck and nodded. "Good enough," I said. "What's next?"

Her pale fingers crept up to her neck and she gratefully gripped the scarf more tightly to her neck. I longed to wrap her in my arms and warm her up, still her shaking. I had to remind myself that even though I had imprinted on her and she was now the focus of my entire life, she did not feel the same about me. Yet.

She cleared her throat and her fingers fluttered back across the stiff page. "Milk next," she said quietly. I grabbed her hand again and led her to the refrigerated section.

"Fat free, or what?" I asked again. This was more complicated than I would have thought. I always ate a lot, but I'd never actually done any of the preparations.

"Skim, please."

I snatched a big jug of skim milk. "Wait, I have to run and get a basket." I dashed through the aisles to the front of the store and grabbed a cart. This was crazy. I knew what the big deal about imprinting was now - it was great. Euphoric. I felt like I could jump to the moon - if Heather wanted me to. Then I frowned. I couldn't see her, and that bothered me. A lot. I felt that same gravitational pull, that call, telling me that I had to find her, see her, take care of her _right now_. This was bad. How could I ever let her go home if I couldn't stand to let her out of my sight? I jogged to the back of the store again, putting the milk into the basket as I went. There she was, still standing there, gazing into space, one hand absently petting the dog's head. Every once in a while she would blink deliberately, like she didn't need to but reminded herself to do it anyway. A wave of relief swept through me and a broad grin crossed my face. She was in sight. She was mine.

"What's next?" I asked, pushing the cart towards her. I watched in fascination as her sensitive fingers read the multiple raised dots. Then she blushed. I stared at her, frustrated. Why was she embarrassed this time?

"It's… um… maybe Mrs. Dangly can help me with this one," she said softly.

I laughed at how ridiculous that was. I would do anything for her, and she wanted to ask some old woman to help her instead. "No, really, it's okay. You can tell me anything."

"Well… feminine… products," she said, words coming out so low even I had to strain to catch them.

Ah. Well, as I had said, I'd do anything for her. This subject, usually so awkward with guys, I found I could accept with ease. For Heather. I cheerfully lead her towards that particular aisle - avoided like the plague whenever Embry and I came here together. She gave me halting instructions and I found them for her, surprising myself at the lack of awkwardness.

"One last thing," she said, sighing in relief as we exited the aisle. "Cat food."

"You have cats too?" I asked, astonished. "How many?"

"Only four," she replied, smiling hesitantly.

"Please, I hope you don't think I'm really rude," I said as I swung a bag of cat food into the cart, "but how do you keep up with all these animals? Especially because you're…"

"Blind?" She grinned and shrugged. "Really, they help me out more than I help them. I'm a sucker for strays, but I'm also an animal trainer. Most of the animals I have right now aren't even mine. I only actually own one dog -" she gestured to the faithful German Shepherd - "three cats, two monkeys, two turtles and a parrot."

"Oh, that's all," I said, grinning. "You're right, that's a much more sane number." I was delighted that she seemed to be loosening up. Perhaps the secret was to talk about animals. "What are their names?"

Her face lit up and she stuck the list back into the front of her shirt without even blushing. "Oh, well this here is Meth." She felt around for the German Shepherd, who came up and licked her face. She laughed and held up her fingers. "Shake, Methuselah."

The dog held up its paw politely and I reached down and shook it, trying to be gentle. I gave it my Alpha look again and it rolled its eyes as if to say, _I already know, you're in charge_. "I wondered about the Meth thing," I said, straightening. "I somehow doubted you'd name your dog after an illegal drug."

"No, she's Methuselah," Heather replied, smiling fondly. "The cats are Esther, Twitch and Bells, the monkeys are Sugar and Monkey, the turtles are Cally and Lypso, and the parrot…" she paused and grinned, shaking her head. "Disclaimer," she said holding up her hand. "It was named by my little niece."

"Just spit it out," I said, raising an eyebrow.

"Copy Cat," said Heather, stifling a giggle. "We call her C.C. for short."

"We?" I asked warily. Please don't tell me Heather was married or something.

"Yes. Um." A shadow crossed her features and she unwrapped the scarf from her neck and threw it into the cart. She missed, and before I could stop myself my arm shot out in quick reflex, caught the scarf and deposited it safely in the cart. I cursed inwardly, glad for the first time that she was blind. "I've got to go," she continued, feeling for the cart handle.

I set her hands on the handle and rested one hand on the side, steering it forward to the counter. I wasn't sure what to do now. A rising panic in my chest threatened to stifle me, and I knew I had to convince her to give me her number, or address, or something. I had to keep in touch. I had to keep her in sight. I was developing an obsession.

I watched silently as she paid, using carefully folded bills pulled once again from her bra. "Would you like help carrying this stuff home?" I asked hopefully, following her measured steps to the door.

"Oh. Well…" She paused, torn. I could tell she wanted to say yes, she wanted to like me - maybe she could imprint on me even without eye contact, who knew? "Sure, thanks," she said softly, smiling.

I did a fist pump silently in the air, feeling another flash of heat. It was harder to contain this time, and I had to take several deep breaths to maintain control. She wasn't ready for me to explode into a wolf just yet. "My car's over here," I offered. Then I remembered her long line of dogs and grimaced. "Or not."

"No, it's all right," she assured me. "Just bring me over there, and I'll show you."

We made our way to my car and I stuffed her groceries into the back. Meth jumped into the back seat and sat there, panting and staring at me. I shrugged - there was already a lot of hair back there from when Paul got into fights and phased accidentally. Heather was rolling down her window. I frowned - in the rain? - but didn't argue. She leaned out and let out a piercing whistle. The row of dogs bounded towards us abruptly and lined up underneath Heather's window. She smiled down at them.

"Follow. Follow," she repeated in a firm voice. Keeping her arm stuck out the window, she nodded at me. "Just drive slowly."

"Where do you live?" I asked as I turned the ignition.

"Just three blocks down and to the left," she said. "It's the old Johnson place."

I grimaced. She was right near the edge of Pack territory. Luckily, she was still inside it, so I'd be able to visit her. "I love that house," I offered as we slowly proceeded down the street. The dogs followed her dangling hand, keeping up without difficulty.

"I hear it's beautiful," said Heather wryly.

"Like you," I muttered under my breath.

"What?"

"Nothing," I said aloud. "So how long have you been here?"

"We just moved in last week," Heather explained absently. She turned her face towards me, searching the air with her empty eyes.

"I wish you could see me," I said abruptly - then I bit my tongue. I just knew that if she saw me, just once, a glimpse, everything would be all right. She'd know we were soul mates, we were meant to be. I could tell her about the Pack, and me being a werewolf.

She sighed and dropped her head, blinking twice. "I wish I could see you, too," she said softly.

I couldn't resist another fist pump - another flash of heat. This had to stop, or I'd end up phasing and getting the love of my life into a car crash.

"You can stop the fist pumping," she said in an amused tone. She was biting her lip to keep a smile from creeping across her face.

"How could you tell?" I asked, astonished, dropping both hands to the wheel.

"The wind whistling past those big hands of yours," she said, restraining a laugh. "It's hard to be subtle when you're as enormous as you are."

"Too true," I said ruefully. I flipped on the blinker and turned left onto the quiet street. The Johnson place was quite a ways down, I thought triumphantly. More time with Heather. I looked over and watched her profile, her constantly blushing cheeks and eyes so alive I couldn't believe they didn't see. I reached over with one hand and, watching her carefully, placed a hand on her cheek, caressing her cheekbone with my thumb. I just couldn't help it.

She stiffened, then relaxed her face into my palm, sighing. "You're so blessedly warm," she explained. "I usually don't let strangers touch me like this, but -"

"We're not strangers," I protested, cutting her off. _We're soul mates, _I continued to myself.

**HEATHER: **

I sighed in relief when I heard the slight beeping noise coming from the Johnson place mailbox. I'd installed a solar-powered noise generator. It was a quiet beep, but distinct, so I could always find my way home if I fell or got disoriented.

"Here we are," Jacob said, pulling up in front.

I heard his door shut and a moment later my own door swung open. I tapped my foot around, trying to gauge the distance to the ground. I heard a sigh, then two enormously muscled, bulging arms wrapped around me and lifted me down. The contact was brief, but so burning and electric that I had trouble standing straight.

"Um… thanks," I said, smiling faintly. I really didn't want this stranger in our house, especially since we'd just moved in. Boxes everywhere, and I'm sure it looked terrible.

"Just - just wait here for a second," said Jacob. I felt his heat leave my side and he dashed to the back of his car. The trunk swung open and I heard the rustle of plastic bags. "I'll just carry these in for you," he said cheerfully.

I fumbled around for the car door handle to let Meth out, avoiding the issue. I patted her on the head as she dashed out, then slammed the door behind her. The rest of the dogs swarmed around me eagerly and I shook my head fondly. They'd all been poorly behaved at first, and had come so far, but they still had a ways to go in the manners department.

"I don't know… Jacob, really. We're just moving in, and I think everything's a big of a mess," I protested as I laid restraining hands on the rowdiest dog's collars.

"Nonsense. I helped you find 'feminine products,' for goodness sake," said Jacob, laughing. "I can take a little clutter."

"Why are you so determined to follow me around?" I asked, frustrated. Not that I wasn't enjoying it - sort of.

"Because you're fun to follow," he said cheerfully. "Now are you going to let me in or do I have to break down your door?"

I laughed nervously, sure he could do it if he wanted to. "Come on, then." I signaled the dogs and they all bounded around into the back yard, where they'd stay until I fed them and got a chance to close the gate.

I walked forward five paces to the curb, raised my foot six inches, stepped up on the sidewalk. Twenty paces up the walk to the stairs, five-inch tall stairs, one pace to the door. Door knob two inches right from the doorframe. I concentrated on the numbers and tried to ignore the huge figure looming behind me. I knew he was probably wishing he could lead me, make it all easier, but I couldn't let myself get used to that. Pretty soon I'd be all alone in this house, and I had to be able to make it on my own.

I fumbled around in my voluminous bra yet again, blushing as my fingers closed around my keys finally. I fingered each one - shed key, safe key, key to my room - ah! House key. I found the keyhole and inserted it, then let myself in. I let Meth go through first so she could check for obstacles. She barked once, softly - all clear. I stepped forward cautiously, then reached to the left and located my cane. I didn't like taking it in public because then people knew right away I was blind, and they always treated me weird. I didn't want that.

That's partly why I had moved to Forks - it was a small town, soon everyone would get used to me and I could live my own quiet life, writing my own quiet novels, not bothered by sympathy and unrequited love.

"Um… Heather? Are you going to let me through?"

Jacob's voice startled me from my reverie and I blinked, fingers closing reflexively around the smooth cane. I tapped my way forward, smiling apologetically.

"Sorry about the mess," I said, waving my hand. I didn't hear where he was soon enough and my gesture smacked him on his iron-solid chest. _Ow! _I drew my hand back and shook it. "That hurt," I said, surprised. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," said Jacob, and I could hear that grin in his voice again. "Let me look at your hand."

"That's okay," I said quickly. I didn't want his hands around mine. It was too uncomfortable. "You can set the groceries in the kitchen, twenty paces forward, three paces to the left." I blushed as I realized I'd spoken in blind terms. "I mean… well… I'm sure you can see it."

"Thanks," said Jacob, grinning that infernal grin. His feet padded quietly forward, and I'm sure he left wet footprints all over the wooden floor.

I felt my clothes - soaked to the bone. I sighed, wishing yet again that I hadn't told Drew he could go to Seattle for the week. I was stuck walking everywhere, and I had a feeling it would rain constantly.

"Hey, Jacob!" I called in the direction of the kitchen. I heard him opening the refrigerator and snooping around, and for some reason I wasn't disturbed.

"Yeah?"

He sounded a little guilty. I smiled. "I'm going to change. Make yourself at home, okay?"

"Sure, sure," he said from the kitchen doorway. "Are you sure you don't want me to leave?"

I frowned, thinking about that. "No, I'd like to ask you a few questions about Forks and La Push. I am new around here, after all."

I heard another massive fist pump and laughed as I made my way forward. My room was forty paces straight from the doorway. My clothes were color-coded and organized from left to right. Underwear, socks, skirts, pants, shirts and shoes, all in their own Braille-labeled boxes. I picked out a lacy-feeling, floaty tank-top and some jeans to change into, hoping everything was right-side-out. I made my way back out, following Meth's sniffing sounds. I still couldn't believe how quickly Meth had fallen in love with Jacob. Usually she was untrusting of strangers.

I pulled the band out of my hair and shook it out, running my fingers through it as I came into the living room. I could feel Jacob's presence there, lounging on the sofa, taking up all the space available in the room, it seemed like. His breath caught in his throat and I frowned.

"What's wrong?"

"What do you mean, what's wrong?" he breathed, voice shaking slightly.

"You sound… um… weird," I offered, making my way forward. I stopped when my cane struck something warm and hard - his foot. "Can I sit down?"

"Sure." I heard him scrambling to right himself. I sank gratefully into the heated space he had vacated, leaning my head into the warm cushion.

"It's so cold here all the time," I explained as I snuggled up to the warmth.

"Really?" Jacob sounded amused, for some reason.

"You never told me what was wrong," I said, frowning.

"Well, it's just that your shirt is kind of… well, it's hard to explain." He sounded like he was trying to stifle laughter.

"What? Is it on backwards or something? Is it a hideous color?" I demanded, staring down, trying to see.

"No, it's fine. Really. I just wasn't prepared for the daring neckline," he explained.

Oh. Well, if that was all… I tugged the scooped neckline up and he groaned. "That's not helping at all. You look sexy, Heather. That's fine. Not a problem with me at all."

"Are you sure?" I tucked at the neckline some more and he laughed.

"Just stop messing with it, sweetheart," he said. "You said you had questions about Forks, right?"

"Oh, yes." I tried to banish the blush from my cheeks and breathe deeply. "Well, first of all - do you have wolves here?"

I felt his weight suddenly grow heavy and still on the couch beside me. There was a long silence and all I could hear was his quick heartbeat and my own breathing.

"Why… why do you ask?" he finally asked warily.

"Only because I got kind of freaked out last night," I said, a little embarrassed. "It was probably my imagination, because it was a little windy out, but I thought I distinctly heard a wolf's howl."

"Are you sure it wasn't one of your many dogs?" he asked, a mocking edge to his voice.

"Of course," I said, drawing myself up. "Of course I'm sure. I majored in animal science in college, Jacob Black, and I know the difference between a dog and a wolf."

"Maybe it was your imagination," Jacob said. His carefree tone had been re-established, but I could swear I still heard a nervous edge in there. "I haven't heard about any… wolves… lately."

I paused, not wanting to continue pressing, but sure there was more to it than that. "Well, my next question is - what does a blind girl do for entertainment around here?"

Jacob laughed and moved a little closer to me on the sofa. I felt crowded and tried to back away from his heat, but there was no place to go. His hand rested lightly on mine. "Well - there's always the beach," he suggested. "Of course, it's easier to go to the beach if you have somebody with you to make sure you don't go falling in."

"Right," I said, trying to breathe normally. "Well, that's out then. Drew is gone all week."

"Drew?" Jacob pulled back sharply.

"Yes, my brother," I said. "Didn't I tell you? He's staying with me until I memorize the layout of Forks."

"Ahhhh," Jacob breathed and relaxed back towards me. His long sigh washed over me and I sniffed appreciatively. His breath smelled like pine and wood smoke. "But he's gone this week, you said."

"Well. Yes," I hedged. Perhaps it hadn't been so smart to tell this stranger that I was by myself all week.

"Don't you know anyone else in Forks?" he asked curiously.

"No - that's sort of why I moved here," I explained quietly.

"Oh. Then you wouldn't be interested in meeting my family?" he asked, disappointed.

"No! I mean, I didn't say that," I muttered. Another fist pumping noise from his side of the couch. I grinned. "So is that an invitation?"

"Definitely," said Jacob. "I'll take you on a walk down the beach and you can meet my brothers. They're always running around down there." He paused for a long moment, then his hand reached forward and rested on my arm again. "Could I… get your phone number, then?" he asked hesitantly.

I bit my lip for a moment, then sighed. No harm, I guess. Forks was so small - everybody knew everything about everybody else, and Mrs. Dangly had obviously liked Jacob Black.

"Okay," I said finally. "But you're just a new friend, right? I mean, we're not trying to have a relationship, right?"

"Friends…" Jacob mused. "Yeah. Sure. For now. I'm not hiding the fact that I'm interested in more, though," he continued.

"Well - we'll start as friends," I said firmly. I gave him my number, then gave him my cell phone so he could enter his into mine. "Thanks for making friends with the new girl in town."

"Oh, the pleasure was all mine," he assured me, sounding sincere. "That's my signal to leave, I suppose?"

"Well - yes," I said softly. "Sorry, but I need to feed the animals."

"Of course." He sat still and silent for another moment, then rose slowly. He clasped my hand between both of his for a moment and I felt him gazing intently at me. "Friends," he said again, sounding amused. "Friends."

"Good bye," I said politely, standing. "It was nice to meet you, Jacob Black."

"I'll call you soon - for that walk," he offered eagerly.

"Sure," I said, smiling. "Maybe sometime."

"Bye." He padded to the door - it creaked open.

"Bye." I waved, smiling.

"Bye," he said again.

"Bye," I said, grinning. "Really, this time. Goodbye."

"Okay." The door creaked closed, then popped open quickly one last time. "Bye!" he shouted quickly, then was gone before I could react.

Biting my lip, I grinned and let Meth lead me to the back door. What a lovely day, in a very weird way.


	3. Chapter 3

JACOB

I was shaking uncontrollably, nerves more and more on edge the further away I got from the Johnson place. She was calling me, I could feel it. Not consciously, but like a pull in the back of my mind. It was like having a rubber band stretched between her heart and mine, and the further I got away the tighter it got stretched. By the time I reached the main road leading out of Forks towards First Beach, I was almost ready to turn around and go back, tell her the truth right now and face the consequences.

I looked over my left shoulder, preparing to switch lanes, and froze. A flash of red hair and pale skin from behind the Forks High School building. A feminine cry for help. A snarl ripped out of my throat and my shaking accelerated, heat flashing up and down my spine. I didn't stop to think that there was no way this girl was Heather - she couldn't have gotten here so fast, for one thing. I just ripped open the door and dove out of the Rabbit, finally letting myself explode out of my clothing. I was a wolf by the time I hit the cement.

I was immediately flooded with voices and information and images from Quil, Embry and Paul.

_Jake? Where are you, dude?_

_Hey, who's that girl? Oh my God, you imprinted, didn't you?_

_Are you in town? Jake? You don't phase in town!_

I ignored them, pushing the voices to the back of my mind. I loped over to the building and lurked around the corner, listening intently.

"You shut up, little bitch!"

I growled, a whine escaping my constricted throat. There was a sound like a palm slapping against a cheek, and another scream. I bounded around the corner and leapt through the air, intent on stopping whatever was going on here. I landed with one paw braced on some skinny guy's chest. My paw covered his entire upper body and I grinned a toothy grin. He was shaking, and his eyes were wide with terror.

I considered just bearing down a little more and snapping his back right now, but then sighed and relented, letting him get up. He was just a stupid high school bully. I turned to face the others, and all I saw were their retreating backs. I grinned widely and rolled my shoulders, shaking out my coat. Another group of bullies scared into permanent goodness. They'd be little Christian heroes from now on, that's for sure. I turned my attention to the girl, now, and sighed in frustration. She wasn't Heather. This girl was also a high-schooler, and her hair wasn't even red. It was brown. The only reason I'd thought it was Heather was because I'd been so tied up in my thoughts of her already.

The girl was backed up against the wall, waist-length brown hair tousled and a red mark growing on her cheek. She looked vaguely familiar - had she been friends with my older sisters at some point? I stared at her for a long time, unsure of what to do. I couldn't just leave her here, petrified to move lest a wolf come at her. I sighed and trotted around the corner. I phased back and crossed discreetly to my Rabbit, pulling my emergency gym shorts out of the trunk. Slipping them on, I crept back to the corner, straightened, and walked back around quickly, in my human form.

"Hey, there," I said, trying to lighten my voice and make it friendly. "Are you all right?"

The girl nodded slowly, straightening and taking a few shuddering breaths. "I think so." She looked torn between telling about the bullies and the wolf and just walking away. Finally she opted for the walking away option. "Thanks for checking, though."

"No problem," I said politely, then made my way back to my car. I sank back into the driver's seat and sighed. Wow, that had been close. I closed my eyes and recalled the cardinal rule of the Pack - no phasing in town. Hopefully the guys would understand.

At least now my shaking was in control. The relief of letting out my pent-up energy left me better able to deal with the yearning pull of my imprint. I kept driving, pulled up in front of Billy's house and hopped out. He was on the front porch, reading a newspaper. He didn't look up as I bounded up the front steps. I stopped in front of him and cleared my throat.

"Um, can I talk to you for a second?"

He looked up and blinked, dark eyes surprised. He reached up and flicked a piece of my shoulder-length black hair out of my mouth, then nodded silently. I sat down on the top step, folding my legs up and resting my chin on my knees.

"What's wrong, Jake?" he asked, frowning. "You went to town to get my prescription, right? Where is it?"

"Oh!" I smacked myself on the forehead. "Sorry. Something came up - I'll run right back up and get it."

"That's all right," said Billy, leaning back in his wheelchair. "Leah is going up later anyway, to the store. She'll get it then." He winked at me. "I am curious, though - what happened that drove me so thoroughly from your mind?"

"Oh, yes." I scratched my head, thinking. Where to begin. I guess in the middle. "Well, I've imprinted."

Billy grinned and nodded. "Yeah, that's what Paul said." Then he paused and looked at me suspiciously. "But where is she?"

"Well, that's what I wanted to talk to you about," I said, suddenly hesitant. "All the other guys - when they imprinted, it seemed to happen as soon as they made eye contact, right?"

"That's how it always happens," Billy agreed. "It's like a mutual exchange of some sort, passing in wordless communication."

"Well." I stopped and bit my lip, then spoke in a rush. "This girl's blind."

Billy's grin dropped from his face. "What?"

I shrugged. "She's blind - so the whole imprinting thing worked on me, but not on her. I don't think she's realized that we're soulmates, Billy. It's driving me crazy. I don't know what to do." I paused, desperate now. "Do you think there's any chance she would imprint without the whole eye contact thing?"

"I don't know," said Billy dubiously. "It's never happened before, and you said you didn't think it happened this time. So probably not."

I sighed, dropping my head into my hands. "So now what? I'm crazy about her, I can't be away from her. Even now, I feel like I need to be with her. It should be a wonderful thing but instead it's torture, because she'll think I'm a stalker or something."

"Well…" Billy trailed off and gazed into the distance, tapping his lip with one finger.

"What?" I recognized that look. He'd just had a brilliant idea.

"I was just thinking that we in the Pack always take love for granted - it falls into our laps, you know? We never work to have a beautiful relationship - imprinting does all that for us. Maybe it'll be good for you."

I was confused. "What are you saying?"

Billy smiled slowly, nodding. "You might have to go about this the traditional way, Jacob."

"Traditional… what's the traditional way?"

"Court her. Make her fall in love with you. She's not dropping into your lap - so make her fall there." Billy sounded smug, and as much as I hated to admit it, what he said made sense.

I had to have Heather. I couldn't exist without knowing she was happy. I would _make_ her fall in love with me. I _would_.

**********

HEATHER

I woke abruptly to the sound of the radio blasting by my ear. _Good morning, U.S.A. Here's today's news: a new baby bottle discovered to actually prevent burping. Healthy or unhealthy? Well, let's ask local baby expert Natalie Whitman -_

I slammed my hand down on top of the radio-alarm clock and rolled over, groaning. How could anyone find that stuff interesting? I sat up and opened my eyes.

And remembered that I was blind.

No matter how many times I reminded myself before I went to sleep, I always woke up thinking I could see. Something about having dreams - memories from the brightly colored world of my past, before the explosion, before the blinding light that had swamped my eyes and ended my existence in the world of vision.

Last night had been different, though. I wondered about it as I pushed myself up from the bed and wandered around my room, absently trailing my fingers over everything, familiarizing myself with the terrain. Meth was still sleeping at the foot of my bed - my clothes from yesterday were on the floor. I frowned as I got dressed in a black T-shirt and jeans. Why had last night been different? My fingers closed over my cane and I tapped my way forward to the door, then froze when my foot came in contact with lacy material.

That's what had been different.

I hadn't dreamed in Technicolor last night. I hadn't dreamed of memories, or the past. I had dreamed of dark, swirling grey mists and warmth, of deep rumbling chuckles, burning skin against mine, muscled chests and rich voices, invitations to the beach, and most of all, a name. Jacob Black.

I shook my head at my own stupidity as I made my way down the hall. Dreaming about some guy I'd just met.

"Meth!" I snapped back down the hallway. It bothered me, how alone I felt now that Jacob was gone.

My sleepy dog came trotting down the hall behind me, pushed past me and whined apologetically. I patted her absently, then jumped as my cell phone began ringing. I had forgotten that I'd stuck it in my pocket while getting dressed. I pulled it out, fumbled my finger around for the raised answer button, pressed it and held the phone cautiously to my ear.

"Hello?"

"Good morning, Heather Champion."

Jacob Black. My breath caught as his voice, even over the phone, reverberated through my body.

"Oh! G-good morning. What time is it?"

"It's ten-thirty, Heather," he answered with a chuckle. "You looked like the early-riser type to me yesterday. I guess I was wrong."

"I usually am," I answered, confused. "But I was having lovely dreams and -" I stopped myself abruptly. How stupid was I, to tell the subject of my dreams about those same dreams? I hoped he wouldn't pursue it.

"Oh? What about?"

Oh, well. I guess it was too much to ask. "Nothing in particular," I said vaguely. "Just pleasant. So what's up?"

"Well, I was taking a jog this morning and I happened across a beautiful little cove that I think you'd really enjoy. It's isolated, but not that far away from my house."

I smiled involuntarily. "Is this an invitation?"

"Heck yeah!" Jacob answered. I could hear the grin in his voice. "So what do you say? A little early-morning adventure?"

I sighed, thinking. I had to feed the dogs, but today was a Saturday - their day for taking a break. No training today… "Okay, sure," I answered. I felt strangely enthusiastic.

There was a brief pause, and I could almost imagine him doing a fist pump. He did that a lot around me. "All right, awesome," he answered somewhat breathlessly. "It'll be really fun, I promise. I'll come get you in an hour, if that's all right."

"That's fine," I answered.

"And maybe I could introduce you to my brothers while you're here?" He sounded hopeful, like a cute puppy begging for a bone.

"Are you trying to set me up with your brothers?" I asked, laughing.

"No." His voice was flat, unamused.

I blinked. "O… kay. That was a joke, Jacob."

"Sorry." He took a deep breath. "Anyway, I'd better go. I'll seeya later, okay?"

"All right, bye." I stuck the phone back in my pocket and shoved my feet into some shoes. I had to get going and take care of the animals if I was going to be gone all day.

************

JACOB:

I took a deep breath and turned the key in the ignition, hoping to high heaven that Heather wasn't listening too intently for my car. If she was, she'd know that I had been lurking just around the corner, tapping my steering wheel and glancing at the clock every two minutes for the past hour. I didn't have anything to keep me occupied down at La Push… and besides, I wanted to be with her. I'd considered showing up early and saying my car clock was broken, but disabused the notion as soon as it had entered my head. The idea was to entrance, charm, seduce - not completely freak out.

I was sweating slightly when I pulled up in front of the old Johnson place. I rested my head on the steering wheel briefly, groaning. Entrance, charm, seduce - those were like fairy-tale words to a guy like me. Who was I kidding? I was a freaking werewolf, not some smooth city-slicker. Heather - dainty, beautiful, shy Heather - could so easily get overwhelmed my somebody like me.

I loped up the sidewalk to the front door and knocked three times, careful not to knock too hard and bang a hole in the door. That might put a damper on our relationship. Just a little. My sharp ears picked up a shuffling, a muffled thump and a slight curse. Then the door swung open and there was Heather, wearing a black muscle-shirt and baggy jeans that should not have been, by all rights, at all attractive. They were. She was. The whole ensemble was, as a whole, impossibly attractive. It wasn't fair.

"Jacob?" she guessed, green eyes bright. Her hair was down today, flowing around and framing her whole upper body with the glorious scented mass.

"Right the first time," I answered, trying to keep my voice steady. "Ready to go?"

"Yeah, let me just get Meth," she said, turning away.

I put a hand on her arm. Much as I liked my fellow dogs, I really didn't want any German Shepherd interference. She froze and a puzzled look crossed her dainty features.

"Why don't we let Meth have the day off?" I suggested, grinning. "I'll take care of you."

She looked torn - she loved her dog and the words 'day off' sounded good, I could tell. But then, she was uncomfortable being alone with me without her familiar companion. I bit my lip - what would help her relax?

"I have a few doggy friends of my own," I said slowly. "They're a little… er… wild, but I wouldn't want them to tangle with Meth. I don't keep very careful track of them, you see." That was true, at least. I had no idea whether the guys were running around as a pack or in human form today.

"Okay." That seemed to decide her. She fumbled inside her shirt for her key, and I couldn't suppress my laughter.

"Why do you keep everything in your shirt?" I asked, taking her arm and bending so she could loop it through the crook of my elbow.

"It's easier than trying to keep track of a purse," she explained. She sounded breathless for some reason. Was I walking too fast? I tried to slow the pace of my long legs, made for covering great distances quickly.

"That makes sense," I said. I guided her around to the other side of the car and helped her in. I jogged back to my side and hopped in, then pulled out quickly and started down the road at my usual speed. I heard a slight squeak from Heather and looked over. She was frowning and clutching at her cane with white knuckles.

"How fast are we going?" she breathed through tight lips.

I glanced at the speedometer. "Just eighty-seven," I said, unconcerned.

"Eighty-seven?" she squeaked, voice shooting up an octave. "On a back town road?"

"It's fine," I assured her, grinning. I'd achieved much greater speeds in my wolf form. "Besides, why are you worried? Just pretend we're not going fast at all and you wont know the difference."

She sighed and rolled her eyes, but her grip on the cane relaxed. "So what's on the agenda for today?" she asked in somewhat more normal tones.

"Well, I figured I could introduce you to my dad, Billy."

"Your dad?" Her voice was nervous again. "Just as friends, though, right?"

I pretended to act surprised. "Of course, just as friends. What did you think it was, some sort of momentous 'Dad, meet the fiancé' thing?" Actually, that would have been great, on my side of things. But it was not to be. Not yet.

"Oh. No, of course not," she said in a small voice.

We were at the edge of town now and I kicked up the speed another notch. Her lips pressed together but she didn't comment. I decided to distract her. Placing my hand on her knee, I caressed it with my thumb gently and smiled when a slight sigh escaped her reluctant lips. She liked me against her own good judgment, I could tell.

"So you're planning to live by yourself when your brother leaves?" I asked conversationally.

"What?" Her voice was a little drugged sounding. She shook her head and pushed at my hand on her knee. I removed it. "Oh, yes. Well, he'll stay for about a month, and hopefully by that time I'll be familiar with the town, and have made some friends who can help me out."

I was impressed. It would take a lot of courage to live by herself like that. "What do you do, besides train animals?"

"Well, I've started writing a novel." She confessed it in a hushed voice. I laughed.

"That's great, sweetheart. What's it about?"

She sounded awed that I actually wanted to know. "Well… it's about soul mates, sort of."

I caught my breath. That sounded promising. "You believe in soul mates, then?"

"Well." She paused, mouth twisting bitterly. "I used to. I did when I started the novel, that's for sure."

My heart sank. "But not anymore?"

"After what I've been through, God's lucky I still believe in Him anymore," she said.

"But God is different than soul mates," I protested. "Isn't it romantic - that idea that everyone has one specific person designed to be their special partner?"

"Yes," she said briefly. "It is romantic." Then she grimaced and turned her deep green eyes towards me. "Aren't guys supposed to just talk about cars and sports? What's all this about romance, anyway? Let's change the subject."

I decided not to pursue the issue right now. Obviously some man had hurt her in the past. I sighed. That would only make my mission that much harder to accomplish. She wouldn't be eager to fall in love again, that's for sure.

When we pulled up in front of the house, Billy was on the front porch in his chair, waiting. I frowned at him and he shrugged - he wanted to meet my blind imprint. I couldn't blame him, I guess. I went around and helped Heather out of her seat, firmly twining my fingers through hers. She pulled back a little, reaching with her cane, nervous with the unfamiliar territory. I pulled her forward, shaking my head.

"I told you I'd take care of you," I reminded her. "I'm not letting you wander off or trip over anything, I promise."

"Just don't let go," she warned. "And stay close."

No problems there. I pulled her a little closer still as we trekked up the long sidewalk. "Stairs," I muttered quietly, putting a hand under her elbow. She tapped with her cane, measuring the step. I could see her lips moving again, muttering numbers to herself. Seven-inch stairs, broken stair three steps up, four paces forward. I shook my head - she was consumed with the numbers. She had to be, I guess.

"Hey, dad, this is my friend Heather. She's new in town." I furrowed my eyebrows sternly at Billy, trying communicate the words 'be nice' loud and clear.

I needn't have worried. He wheeled forward, all charming smile (wasted) and pleasant handshake (also wasted, because I was gripping her right hand tightly.)

"Very nice to meet you, Heather," said Billy. "Jacob told us about you, but I couldn't wait to meet you myself. Charming."

Heather blushed and looked down. "Thank you." She sighed and opened her eyes wider, staring around. "I'd tell you that your home is beautiful if I could. I'm sure it is."

"Oh, no," said Billy laughing. "Jacob still hasn't gotten around to any of those repairs or new paint coats he promised me, so it's a bit of a mess. I'm glad you can't see it."

Oh, wow. That was callous, Billy. Nice job, telling her he was glad she was blind. She didn't seem to mind, though, just smiled and bobbed her head nervously.

"Where are the rest of the guys?" I asked suspiciously. Probably listening at the door.

Sure enough, Embry popped out of the doorway as soon as I'd asked. "Hey, Heather," he said, grinning. As he passed me he mumbled, "Wow, you got yourself a hotty, Jake. Nice."

I growled, but Heather laughed. Of course she would have heard that. "Thanks. Who's there?"

"I'm Embry," he said, reaching forward and clasping her left hand. As he did so he drew her cane away from her fist and set it aside. "You won't need that around here," he assured her as she protested. "Jacob won't leave your side."

I scowled at him, but before I could comment, out came Paul and Seth.

"Hey, there," said Paul loudly. "You must be Heather."

"Yes," said Heather wryly. "Who else?"

Seth grinned. "I'm Seth, Heather. Nice to meet you."

Leah emerged next. What was she doing here? "Hi, Heather. I'm Leah."

"You never said you had a sister," Heather accused me.

"Oh, I'm not really Jacob's sister," said Leah, grinning. "More like his… pack mate."

I couldn't keep the snarl from escaping my throat. Enough innuendo.

"Oh, you're good buddies, then?" Heather asked innocently.

Uproarious laughter. I frowned - this was not going as well as I'd hoped. Heather was smiling, though she looked a little overwhelmed, so I decided to stick around for a little longer.

"Where's everybody else?" I asked, resigned. As soon as I spoke, the rest of the pack came pouring out of the door, filling up the porch and filling up the sidewalk. Introductions flew, and I could see Heather's eyes crossing as she tried desperately to unscramble the different voices and names.

Finally I'd had enough. "All right! I think you've met just about everyone," I said, exasperated. "We're going on a walk, you guys."

We walked away to a chorus of good-byes, and I breathed a sigh of relief when we hit the beach. Heather stumbled a little in the soft sand and I caught her carefully. "Want to take off your shoes?" I asked. She shrugged and slipped out of her sandals, sighing and scrunching her toes in the cool, damp sand. Hands linked, we strolled down the beach in silence for a long moment.

"So…" she said slowly.

"Yes?" I asked in dread.

"So… that was your family." She shook her head and that breathtaking smile flashed across her lips.

"They aren't usually all there at once," I assured her quickly. "Sometimes they visit one or two at a time, and sometimes we have gatherings. But they don't just hang out constantly at my house." I looked at her, not sure if I wanted to hear the answer, but unable to stop myself from asking the question. "Did you like them?"

"I didn't think there would be so many," she said hesitantly. "And they're all so big. It was a surprise. But yes, I liked them. They're friendly, and nice, and - warm."

"Wait, is that warm in the theoretical sense or the physical sense?" I asked.

"Both," she answered, laughing. "But I was speaking of the physical sense. I hope you don't think I'm racist when I ask if the size and temperature is a Quileute trait?"

"Well… yes. Sort of. In a way," I hedged. Change the subject, find a safe topic. I cast around wildly for something safe to talk about, then froze. Heather pulled to a halt beside me and glanced up.

"What is it? Jake? Are you all right?"

I growled low in my chest and pushed Heather behind me, still gripping her hand. "Just an unwelcome visitor," I assured her, staring down the beach.

Coming towards us through the mist was a tall, pale figure, meticulously dressed, hair combed to perfection, human smile carefully pasted on his stone-cold features. Edward Cullen. What the heck was he doing here? Violating the treaty, crossing Pack boundaries. Wars had been started for less. This had sure better be important.

In the back of my mind as I watched the bloodsucker approach, I was contemplating how glad I was that Heather was blind. Humans were so entranced by the Cullens - their bell voices, their astonishing good looks, their god-like forms. I couldn't lose Heather to a filthy leech.

"Good morning, Jacob." Cullen's voice was soft, low, rhythmic, warm, like poetry.

"What do you want?" I asked abruptly. I was in no mood for foolish pleasantries. "You're not supposed to be here."

"There's an urgent situation that requires our attention," returned Edward smoothly. "I hope you'll be able to disregard the treaty in these particular circumstances. I believe Sam may be interested in my news."

_What is this, leech? _I thought at him viciously. I knew he could hear my thoughts, and I made use of that skill now. _If it's something really, really important, raise one eyebrow. _

Up went the perfectly sculpted eyebrow. I sighed. _If it's something you need to talk to Sam about privately, raise the other one. _Up went the other one. Good. I could stay with Heather a little longer. _I don't know where he is, but I'm not about to attack you right here and now, _I assured him impatiently. _Go find him_.

"Aren't you at least curious?" asked Edward, mildly amused.

I had to admit, usually I would be. But right now, Heather was all I cared about - especially because I knew that even if I begged on my knees the bloodsucker would never tell me anything meant for Sam's ears alone.

"Not at this moment," I said, drawing Heather closer to my side.

Edward lifted his head, sniffing slightly. "Ah, is this your impr- that is, your girlfriend?"

"Oh, no, we're just friends," said Heather, smiling. "I'm Heather." She reached forward with her free hand, lips moving as she calculated the degrees to where Edward's voice had come from. I shook my head in admiration.

"Edward Cullen," he replied. Then he glanced at me and grinned.

_I'm working on the 'just friends' part,_ I returned with a glare.

"So tell me, Heather - how old are you?" he asked, leaning forward to shake her hand. "Have you finished college yet?"

She didn't seem to notice his cold, hard fingers, just kept smiling that infernally brilliant smile. "Just got out this year. I'm twenty-four."

Edward smirked as he walked past me. I edged away from his cold, stiff form. His eyes darted up and down Heather's form and his smirk grew more pronounced. His words, when they emerged, were calculated to be just loud enough for Heather to hear.

"Snagged yourself a college girl, Jacob. Nice."

Flash of heat along the spine, dimming of the vision, shaking hands. I clenched my eyes shut and squeezed Heather's hand, trying to maintain control. Heather was confused, and she patted my shoulder. Her soft touch helped calm me and we continued walking.

"Dare I ask what all that was about?" she asked, glancing over her shoulder.

"There's sort of a… family feud, for lack of a better term, between the Cullens and the Quileutes," I replied carefully. "Dispute over land, I believe."

"Oh," she said softly. "He had a nice voice," she offered a moment later, "but he was kind of rude."

And she hadn't even heard the worst of it, which had gone on inside my head. I grinned. At least she hadn't fallen under the vampire spell like the rest of Forks had.

"Jacob," she said slowly pulling to a stop. "Something he said - I don't think he meant for me to hear, but I did…"

I waited, dreading the question I knew was coming.

"Jacob, just how old are you really?"

I expelled a long, low sigh. Was there even one easy question she could ask me? Not really. What to say? Mentally, I was thirty. Physically, I was thirty. Psychologically, I was thirty. In years? I was nineteen. Somehow I didn't think nineteen would set well with an adult graduated from college. Maybe she was into younger guys, but I doubted.

What can I say? I opted for the lie. "I'm twenty-eight," I said sheepishly. "Edward was just teasing me because…" I improvised on the spot - "A couple years ago I had a blind date with some girl who said she was twenty and ended up being fourteen."

"Oh." She sounded relieved, and laughed. "I thought you sounded about that age, maybe a little older, but I wasn't sure."

"Yeah. Well. Now you know," I said, laughing with her nervously. I pulled up sharply and grinned in relief. We had reached the cove I'd been talking about, at last. It stretched out into the sea, tide pools alternating with stretches of wet sand, dotted with rocks. At the end of the flat stretch there rose a tall rock, dubbed the Haystack by the Pack. I wanted Heather to get to the top, to feel the salty spray on her face and hear the roar of the waves as they crashed on the Haystack. I wanted her on the top of the steep rock - rough terrain. An excuse to carry her? I grinned in anticipation and thrust all curiosity and unpleasant thoughts about Edward Cullen's illegal, deal-breaking visit. "We're here."


	4. Chapter 4

I hung helplessly in Jacob's arms, squinching my eyes shut in concentration. I was trying as hard as I could to dredge up some kind of fear, or nervousness, uncomfortable feelings. No good. No matter how hard I tried to be reasonable, I felt so safe in Jacob's arms - it was like being carried by a god. There was no doubt that he was sure-footed on the slippery, loose rock, there was no doubt that his arms were strong enough to support me, there was no doubt that he'd take complete care of me no matter what.

Finally I sighed and relaxed, resting my head on his shoulder, giving up all hope of stirring some fear up in my foolish head.

"Finally." I could feel the word reverberating from Jacob's bare chest and I shivered.

"Finally what?" I managed to croak into his neck.

"You were just sitting there all stiff as a board," he said, laughing. "It's hard to carry somebody when they're stretched out like a corpse, you know."

I blushed. "Sorry, I didn't think about that. You really don't have to carry me, you know. I could have made it to the top just fine."

"Yeah, maybe by this time tomorrow," Jacob scoffed. "I wanted us to actually enjoy the top, not spend all day getting there."

Hmph. If he was anything like a typical guy, he probably just wanted to cop a feel while he had a chance. I grimaced - that was unfair to Jacob. He'd never do something like that, I was convinced of it now. He was kind, and gentle, and fun, and considerate, not awkward or rude about my blindness, just accepting it as part of me. His character, I decided finally, was pretty much without flaw, as far as I could tell.

"Speaking of the top…" Jacob's smooth, loping steps finally came to a stop. It wasn't fair that somebody so large should be so graceful. "We're here."

"So you can let me down now, right?" I asked quickly.

"I can…" he trailed off and I heard that infernal grin beaming at me.

"And you will," I assured him quickly. "Right now."

My pulse quickened when his bare chest expanded, pressing the warmth firmly against me as he sighed a huge, resigned sigh.

"Okay. You're right." He gently slid my legs to the ground and steadied me. "There's a nice little ledge you can sit on here."

He took my hand and led me, then pushed me to a sitting position. I shifted to get more comfortable, then smiled, taking a deep breath. "Oh, it's so beautiful," I breathed. The salt stung my nostrils, the waves crashed, and I was in bliss.

I felt Jacob's immense heat settle down directly behind me, then surround me. What was he doing? I reached out with one hand, tentatively to the side and jerked back when I felt his bare leg along my right side. Another little movement told me his left leg was similarly positioned.

"Jacob," I said, pushing at his legs. "What happened to just friends?"

"My memory is terrible today," he whispered, wrapping his arms firmly around my shoulders and pulling me back against him. All he was wearing was a pair of long gymn shorts, and all that bare length of muscle sent my blood hammering through my veins. I tried to struggle upright, but he held me easily against him. "This would be easier if you held still," he said mildly after a moment.

Perhaps he was right. For some reason, I wasn't at all frightened. The embrace felt sort of - natural, like it was meant to be. Maybe I should accept it, just for a minute. I relaxed against his chest, leaning the back of my head in the hollow of his throat and placing my hands on top of his arms where they held me gently, but with an unbreakable hold. We sat there, quiet, listening to the rushing and pounding of the surf. The breeze whipped around me, lifting my hair and flicking it against Jacob's face - but I didn't feel cold. No wonder, with Jake the Human Heater all wrapped around me like this. I turned my head sideways on his bare skin and listened to the rapid beating of his heart.

After a very long time I turned my head forward again and sighed. "Are you sure you're not sick?" I murmured softly. "Your heart is going three times as fast as mine, and mine isn't exactly at a sedate pace right now."

"Believe me, I've never felt better than I do at this very minute." The hard, warm certainty in his voice was impossible to doubt.

Now that I'd broken the silence he seemed to decide it was interrogation time. "So tell me how you lost your sight," he said, clasping my hands together between his palms and rubbing lightly.

The contact made me lose my train of thought, but I quickly fought to regain it. "Um… what? Oh. Well, I was accidentally exposed to some very high intensity light. The doctors thought it would be temporary, but… here I am, three years later, and still blind as a bat." I tried to make my voice light as I recounted the vague details, but failed miserably.

"What kind of light would blind you but not damage your skin?" He sounded puzzled. "And where the heck were you exposed to that kind of light?" His arms tightened around me slightly. "And who exposed you?" His voice sounded like a deadly threat to that unfortunate someone.

I decided to withhold that last bit of information, to protect my brother. "It was in a lab at Portland University of Science. They were experimenting with some new technology, it got out of hand and I walked in at just the wrong time." I shook my head, smiling grimly. "Just my luck. I've always managed to have the worst timing possible in every aspect of my life."

He paused for a moment, and when he spoke his voice was a little hoarse. "Not in every aspect surely."

"Oh, yes," I assured him. "Let's see here…" I wiggled my hands out of his grasp and began ticking off points on my fingers. "Health - check. Work - check. Relationships with family - check. Money - check. Love…" I hesitated for a long moment, then sighed. "Check, check, check. Triple check for love."

My fingers stilled as his warm hands gently unfolded them and wrapped them back up in his massive, calloused palms. "I don't know about that last one," he said, sounding slightly amused. "I was just thinking what good timing it was that we both happened to be in the same parking lot at the same time." His thumb began making circles on the back of my hand and if I'd been standing up I would have fallen. "You never mentioned 'friends' on your check-list."

"Are we friends?" I asked, my voice sounding a little drugged. "I didn't know friends… held each other… like this." As I spoke he was pulling me closer and closer to his long, hard body.

"We learn something new every day," said Jacob absently.

I struggled to put a slight distance between us, and failing in that, settled back against him reluctantly. "Change of subject," I said sharply.

"Okay - next question." Jacob sounded amused. "Why did you move to Forks?"

"Long story," I said briefly, waving my hand. "It's complicated."

"I've got time," he said gently. "Lots and lots of time for you, Heather."

"See?" I sat up and turned towards him triumphantly. "That's just the kind of thing you keep saying that convinces me!"

"Of what?" He was puzzled.

"That we're not friends. Friends don't say stuff like that!"

"What kind of 'stuff' are you referring to, Heather?" he asked gently, pulling me back to his chest.

"Well… I don't know… romantic stuff," I said, gesturing helplessly.

"Was that romantic?" He sounded pleased.

"It's not so much what you say as how you say it," I returned, frowning. "It's like this low sort of - I don't know, intimate whisper. It's sending the wrong signals, not friend-like at all."

"Oh?" He leaned closer and rested his chin lightly on my shoulder, breath stirring the hair above my ear. "Intimate whispers like this, you mean?" His voice was no more than a low grumble emerging from somewhere deep in his chest.

I shivered and nodded. "Exactly. So you should stop."

He didn't lean away. "I find myself very easily distracted with you, Heather, but I haven't completely forgotten my original question. Why did you move to Forks? Really, you can tell me anything. And I do mean anything."

For some reason it was completely impossible not to trust him. His voice radiated sincerity and concern. I suddenly had an impulse to tell him everything, an urge to completely spill the old emotional beans, so to speak. So I did.

I told him all about how I had been in love with this man - one of my brother's friends - romantic, handsome, dashing. We'd been together for a year, and I was completely swept away in dreams of picket fences and lots of little kids. We had a big date for dinner at a very nice new restaurant, and I was all dreamy-eyed, thinking that this was The Night. He'd propose. I was so sure of it that I'd already put together my acceptance speech. Then I'd gone to pick up my brother at the lab, had gotten blasted - been hospitalized. There were no other affects besides the blindness.

I'd been so desperate to keep the date that I'd snuck out of the hospital back to my house. My brother felt so guilty about my blindness that he helped me. I got dressed and Drew drove me to the restaurant. He led me inside and over to the table where his friend sat. Drew left to give us a little privacy. My love leaned forward, grasped my hands and told me quite firmly that there was no way he could go out with a blind girl.

I was shocked, stunned - I didn't believe him at first. He convinced me by assuring me that he'd already picked out the perfect replacement for me: a science lab partner of his who was beautiful, elegant, fashionable and would be an asset to his career. Over the next few years, every other aspect of my life began to deteriorate as well. Everyone I ran into was sympathetic and walking on eggshells, everything was awkward, even with my best friends. No matter where I went I seemed to run into either my former love or his new fiancé. The straw that broke my back was when they wanted me to train their new dog, a poodle given to them as a wedding gift. I had my brother buy a house in the nearest tiny, invisible town - Forks. And I moved.

"And met me," Jacob finished, gripping me harder in his arms. He was silent for a long moment. "Is it really heartless for me to be glad right now?"

"Yes!" I sobbed, turning my face into his shoulder. I had been crying for the last part of my story and now I couldn't stop. I hit his shoulder as hard as I could, releasing my pent-up rage in one hard blow. Immediately I straightened and placed a palm along his cheek. "Sorry," I said in a sobbing, gasping breath.

"You're overwrought," he said, rubbing his hand over my back in a movement both sensual and comforting. He reached forward and touched my dry face in wonder. "You're crying, aren't you?"

"Yes," I said, sniffling.

"But no tears," he stated the obvious, caressing my cheekbone with his thumb. Ahhh - that thumb of his was my undoing.

"Not since the accident," I explained, taking a few more shuddering breaths. "It's kind of handy, actually. No red-rimmed eyes, no runny nose."

He laughed softly, then pulled me back into his arms. "You ready to go back, now that I've discovered all the dark secrets of your past?"

"Sure," I said. One last deep breath and I was composed again. "Sorry about that breakdown. It's probably a little soon in our relationship to be pushing big emotional stuff like that on you."

Jacob's fist creaked as he clenched it, and I could hear his teeth gritting. "That's not a problem at all. I'd just like to get my hands on that… that…"

"Bastard?" I finished. "Son of a bitch?"

"Yeah, that," he said, laughing.

I took his hand and uncurled his fingers softly, smoothing the tension out. "It's all right. I've found that since moving to Forks I've sort of forgotten about him." Huh. That was new. Not since Forks, I realized. Since Jacob.

"What's his name?" Jacob asked casually.

I heard the menacing undercurrent to his tone and laughed. "Not a chance, big boy. You aren't going to go off tearing my former lover limb from limb."

"Why not?" he growled, sweeping me up in his arms to begin the trek back down to the beach.

"It isn't civilized," I said primly.

He snorted with laughter and I realized too late that the term 'civilized' didn't exactly apply to half-naked macho he-man Jacob. "Sweetheart, whoever told you I was civilized was under a very, very false impression."

JACOB:

I'd gotten Heather back up to Billy's house and she was ensconced firmly in the kitchen with Leah, talking about girl things, no doubt. Now I could devote a little time and energy to wondering what the heck Edward Cullen had wanted. I cornered Billy and told him to look after Heather for an hour or two while I went to find Sam. Then I went in, dropped a quick kiss on Heather's head - just the back, unfortunately, not the soft lip-type part like I wanted - and told her I'd be back soon.

I ran down the beach until the house was out of site, then phased, removing my shorts first this time. Everybody else was in human form - except Sam.

_Hey, Sam. Is the leech gone? _I asked through our connection.

_Edward is gone, yes, _he replied calmly. _Come to my house, Jacob. I need to talk to you_.

I turned out of First Beach and bounded through the forest as quickly as I could, curiosity overwhelming my mind. _What did he have to say? Was it worth violating the treaty, or do we have a war coming up_? The idea didn't excite me as it might have in the past - not with Heather here.

_You decide for yourself, _he answered, sounding amused.

As soon as I reached his house I phased back, threw on my shorts and dashed inside. He was sitting there, still in wolf form, and Emily was stroking his fur. His eyes were half-closed in pleasure and I cleared my throat. His eyes snapped open and Emily blushed.

"Hey, Sam. Emily," I nodded to her. "Should I phase, or shall you?" I asked Sam.

He grinned a wolfy grin and rolled his muscled shoulders. His outline blurred slightly, then snapped into his human form abruptly. Too abruptly to give me a chance to look away.

"Yeesh, Sam, in public?" I grimaced, covering my eyes. "You really need to be considerate of us poor observers."

"Oh, shut up," he said, standing and brushing himself off. Emily tossed him some jeans and he slid them on, then turned to me and crossed his arms. "You can uncover your eyes now, big baby."

"Just don't want there to be any confusion over my gender preference," I mumbled defensively.

"Whatever." Sam sat down and stretched his long legs in front of him. "You're here to beg information, right? Beg away."

I sighed and sat cross-legged on the floor. "You know what I want to know. Why did Cullen break the treaty? What's going on?"

"You remember the other Cullen girl, Alice?" Sam asked, picking up a cold piece of pizza from the nearly empty box on the table.

"Yeah - creepy one who can see the future, right?" I asked, ignoring my rumbling stomach. I needed hunger as an excuse to take Heather to dinner later.

"That's the one. Well, she's seen an earthquake hitting Forks and La Push - potentially deadly," Sam explained calmly. "Not for another month, but still…"

"It seems like if it was that big, people would be able to predict it coming in the usual way," I observed, frowning.

"Alice saw that the earthquake would be announced, but that a miscalculation would occur. They'll announce on the news that the earthquake is hitting Seattle, when really it'll be knocking pots and pans about in Forks."

"That's what Edward was saying, then?" I shook my head. "Damn. Here I was hoping it would be a good excuse to get in a fight."

"It was just a warning," Sam said. "He wanted to let us know that they were leaving next week, and we could feel free to leave, too."

"What about everybody else in Forks?" I asked, frowning harder.

"The Cullens don't figure it's their problem, I guess," Sam said. "They'd been thinking about moving for a while, anyway - they look too young for the ages they're claiming to be, and rumors are spreading about plastic surgery and stuff."

"Ah." I finally relented and stood, picking up a piece of pizza and biting in with relish. Around the mouthful I turned to Sam. "So what are we going to do?"

"We have to somehow warn people," he replied, sounding frustrated. "I just don't know how. We can't very well go to the earthquake people and say 'Hi, I'm a werewolf and my sworn enemy vampire lady just told me that you're going to predict a major earthquake hitting the wrong place.' It wouldn't go over too well."

I laughed. "You got that right. At least we have a month to think about it."

"Yeah," he agreed. "Sorry this had to happen just now, right when you've imprinted and all."

"It's okay - it'll give me something to take my mind off things when I'm away from Heather," I said with a sigh. "Speaking of which, I have to go. I'll keep thinking of what we could do - let me know if there's anything I can do."

"Sure thing," Sam said with a grin.

As I phrased back and leaped out the door, and thought about the irony of the situation. Vampires and werewolves - the only people who could survive a major earthquake completely undamaged - were the only ones who knew about it. Usually I'd do my best to safe as many people as possible during the quake, but having Heather in Forks completely changed the dynamic. I couldn't have her anywhere near anything dangerous. I couldn't. If she came into any danger, was in any pain, I didn't know how I could deal with myself. With life.


	5. Chapter 5

HEATHER

There was a short, awkward silence in the car as I wondered if Jacob was still in interrogation-mode and he wondered if I was still in the emotional-explosion mode.

"So… did you have fun with Leah?" He'd decided to go with the interrogation mode.

"Yeah, she's really nice," I said, clutching my recently retrieved cane. She'd been anything but nice, actually, but I wasn't going to insult Jacob's friends.

To my surprise, he laughed. "You'd be the first to describe her using _that _word," he said, grinning.

"Well, okay… so I exaggerated," I said, laughing with him. I had a helpless reaction with him - he put me on edge, yet relaxed me, made me happy, yet sad that I couldn't see him, couldn't be normal for him.

"She's forceful, overbearing, a little snappish and mean spirited," said Jacob softly. "But she's had a hard life. I can't really blame her for all that stuff."

I wondered whether I should push for details now. He decided for me by changing the subject. "So what are you doing this evening?"

"I don't know, what time is it?" I asked. I'd completely lost track of the time with Jacob - I sighed. He was bad for me.

"It's nearly seven-thirty," he said after a brief pause.

"Well, then, I'll probably go home and listen to music for an hour, feed the animals and go to bed." I tried to feel cheerful about it, but I knew I'd be desolately lonely. Another reason Jacob was bad for me.

"Well, if you have a little time to burn…" He trailed off suggestively.

My breathing quickened involuntarily before I pulled back my train of thought from its wild ride down hot muscle and electrical contact. I shouldn't be seeing innuendo in everything the poor guy said. I couldn't help it though - when he spoke in that throaty whisper, it was like he was speaking only to me, isolating him and me in a little bubble, and I really couldn't help my train of thought. He probably didn't even really want me or like me, he was just hanging out with me because he felt sorry for me. "Yes?" My voice only trembled a little. "If I have time… what?"

"We could go to dinner," he suggested.

A quick flash of disappointment flashed through me and I shook my head in disgust. Dinner was just fine. Great. Much better than what I'd been thinking, I said to myself firmly. "Sure. Where are we going?" Please, God, not a fancy place. I was in jeans and a muscle shirt, for goodness' sake.

"I was thinking we could pick something up at the store and take it to the park," he suggested tentatively.

Wait - was that a prayer that had just been answered? "Sounds great," I said, smiling.

We sat in companionable silence for the next few minutes into town - every once in awhile he'd reach over and pat my knee, or cover my hand with his huge warmth. I blushed and squirmed every time. It was so weird, how close and intimate I felt with this man after only two days of knowing each other.

We pulled into the store parking lot. I heard his door closed, and a moment later mine opened. When his fingers gripped my elbow and pulled me forward, he jerked a little too hard and I landed against him, body against body. I braced myself for the shock of the contact, the heat, the desire, but it didn't come. Instead there was that overwhelming urge to just be able to see, just for a moment, just long enough to catch a glimpse of Jacob's face. Just long enough to look him in the eye. Why was it so important? I pulled away from him, frustrated, and began tapping forward with my cane.

"Um, Heather?"

I forced myself not to snap - it wasn't his fault I was having these inexplicable feelings. "What, Jacob?"

"You're going the wrong direction." His hand closed on my elbow and pulled me forward. I just blushed and tagged along. _I'm a walking disaster, _I thought miserably. Well, okay, more like a being-dragged-by-a-very-large-man disaster, since I wasn't exactly walking on my own power right now.

We swung through the store at the speed of light, picking up a loaf of bread, some sandwich meat and slices of cheese. We both liked our sandwiches dry, no condiments. I would have said something about us finally having something in common, but I was too breathless from all the being dragged hither and yon.

We finally got back out to the car and settled in. "Why are you in such a hurry?" I asked, trying to settle back down.

"I don't want it to get dark on us," he said as if stating the obvious.

"Does it matter?" I asked bitterly.

"Maybe not to you, but it sure matters to the criminal life around here," he said, sounding nervous.

I couldn't help laughing at that. "Oh, come on. In Forks? What could the criminal life possibly be like?"

"You'd be surprised," he said mysteriously. "I guess you're right - it's not likely. But it could happen, and I can't have you anywhere near anything like that. I couldn't handle it."

"Jeez, Jacob," I said as we pulled to the side of the street near the park. "Like any criminal in his right mind would attack somebody like you."

He helped me out, grabbing the bag of sandwich makings with one hand and me with the other. We settled on the cool, relatively dry grass beneath a tree and he put together my sandwich for me without a word. We'd settled once more into that comfortable silence - it was like we had known each other for years, and didn't need words. Once we'd begun eating, he sat behind me like he had at First Beach, and I quickly became drowsy. My head sagged back against his chest and he sighed deeply, wrapping me firmly in his long, strong arms.

I felt so safe. So complete. Nothing could disturb the utter peacefulness of this moment, this perfection, this…

Jacob tensed behind me, comforting arms becoming bands of steel, locking me in his embrace. His body became perfectly still.

Somehow, instinctively, I knew to whisper. "What is it? Jacob, is everything all right?"

The only answer was a low growl rumbling in his chest. His hands started shaking and I was startled at a sudden burning flash of heat passing up along his body. I pulled away, out of the circle of his arms, staring wide-eyed and frantic.

"What is it?" I couldn't keep the hysterical edge from my voice.

He heard it and it jarred him from his trance. "Nothing you need to worry about," he said, voice rough and low. "It's dark, and all the creepy night creatures are out."

Wait a second. Creepy night creatures? "Jacob, is this a joke? What does that mean?"

"Some things are going to happen in the next few minutes that may be inexplicable or frightening," Jacob said, words rushing through tight lips. "Just sit very still and know that I'll take care of you, and I promise I'll explain everything after it's over."

I nodded, clenching my hands together in my lap and pressing my lips tightly together to keep my frightened whimpers from escaping. I wished futilely that I wasn't so helpless for a moment. Sitting here in my swirling grey mist while there were… creepy night creatures wandering around - it was not my cup of tea.

JACOB

I checked to make sure Heather wasn't going anywhere. She had closed her eyes and was rocking slightly, face tense as she tried to suppress her terror. She wasn't moving. I wanted to comfort her, but there wasn't time. I'd scented a vampire - and it wasn't a Cullen. This was a stranger, just moving through, and it was hungry.

I stepped a safe distance away from Heather and phased as quickly and smoothly as I could, trying not to make any noise. She noticed - her head turned and her empty eyes searched the air. I trotted forward and nuzzled her gently. She curled her hands in my fur.

"Jacob? What is this? Where are you?" She sounded lost and desperate. She traced her hands over my long nose and down my chest, and her hands froze. She gasped. "You're a wolf," she said. She moved her hands roughly over my whole body as if double-checking. "But Jacob said there weren't any in the area. And why are you here, in the middle of the park? You're not a creepy night creature, like he said, are you?"

I gave a wolf chuckle, ignoring the pulses of desire her unabashed touch on my body sent coursing through me. She'd never have touched me like that in my human form. I huddled against her briefly, warming and comforting with my soft fur. Then I leapt up and stood over her, baring my teeth at the darkness behind her. I knew he was out there - the filthy bloodsucker, lurking, waiting for some poor human to be caught off guard.

_Sam! New leech in the neighborhood_, I called loudly through our connection.

_What? Where is he_? Paul's voice replied. He was always eager for a fight.

_Come down to the park in Forks - the bloodsucker's looking for easy pickings_, I replied. _Bring as many of the guys as you can. _Keeping a careful tab on the leech, I circled, scenting the air for any others. No, it was just a loner, looking for some dinner.

Well, he could just find some dinner in another town, I thought fiercely. I grinned fiercely and growled approval as Paul came bounding through the darkness with Embry and Leah. They came up and circled, sniffing at Heather's still, white form.

I growled and bared my teeth - she was scared enough as it was, without a bunch of wolves circling her. _All right, guys, just go, okay? _

_You aren't coming_? Leah asked, surprised. Usually I was the one leading the charge. Tonight, I had to stay and personally guard Heather - three werewolves to one hungry vampire was an easy fight anyway. _I'm staying with Heather_, I explained briefly. _Just go. When you're finished take the pieces to First Beach and burn them. _

_Will do_, _with pleasure, _said Embry with a fierce snarl. They bounded off into the darkness, silent and deadly. I didn't envy the bloodsucker.

I began pacing in tight circles around Heather, wishing I could talk to her. Finally I lay down beside her and rested my chin in her lap. She loved animals - maybe even in my wolf form I could put her at ease. With one ear cocked for sounds of the battle or cries for help, I grumbled low in my throat, letting the vibrations pass through me to Heather. She slowly relaxed, letting one white hand fall down on my head and caress the fur there. It felt amazing - I could no longer laugh at Emily and Sam earlier today. I could spend all day just sitting here letting her light fingers comb through my fur.

_Jacob! Bloodsucker coming your way! _Paul's sharp warning stirred me and I rose to my feet, beginning my tight circling again. Then I froze. I saw the white figure, flashing towards us in the darkness, nothing but a pale blur against the darkening sky. I growled and tensed, then sprang. I hit the leech with my right shoulder, and it hurt - but not unbearably bad. I knocked him to the ground and sat on his chest, aiming my fangs for his jugular.

It never felt like killing when I took care of a leech. There was no blood, no soft flesh, nothing bearing even a remnant of humanity. It was more like attempting to gnaw pieces off a very large, ice-cold rock. The bloodsucker got in a few hard blows even after I had nearly separated his head from his shoulders, but then Paul and Embry came up with Leah behind and that took care of that. They took the stiff, solid pieces in their jaws, noses wrinkled in disgust as the stench rising from the vampire pieces.

We knew it wouldn't be safely and truly dead until we'd burned it, but that wouldn't be a problem. I relaxed as I headed back to Heather. She was crying again, I could tell by the shaking of her shoulders. I needed to phase back so I could explain everything to her. I realized what it all must have sounded like - growls, howling, hisses, scraping and gnawing and ripping - terrifying.

I phased behind the tree, slipped on my shorts and stepped out, settling beside her. She jerked as I laid my hand on her shoulder, then relaxed in to me, deep sobbing breaths shaking her delicate frame. She didn't even try to talk, so neither did I. I just lifted her and carried her back to the car. I tried to set her down in her seat, but she clung to me, still crying without tears, so I just sat there, perched on the hood of my car, and murmured soothing words to her, rocking her and trying not to crush her in my grip.

Finally, after what seemed like hours, she began to come around. She loosened her grip on my shirt, took a deep, shuddering breath and sat up. Her dry eyes were filled with the anguished memory of terror.

"Jacob…" The one word was all she needed to say.

"I'll explain everything, I promise," I said, pulling her back down to my chest. "I'm just glad you're safe."

"Me too," she said wryly, and I knew she was back to her old self again. I let her down to the ground and she felt her way around the side of the car, swung the door open and hopped in. I got in my side and sat for a moment.

"I think you should come stay at La Push for the rest of the week, while your brother is gone," I said abruptly. I couldn't stop the words from coming out, even though they sounded crazy and obsessive. I just couldn't bear the thought of another rambling leech passing through Forks while Heather was unprotected.

"I can't… my animals…" She sighed regretfully. "I would feel safer, though, with you - as soon as you decide to explain all that -" she waved her hand "- noise."

"I'll explain back at La Push," I said. "Look, at least sleep at my house. I'll bring you back home early morning every day, if you want - but I can't have you alone in that house at night."

"Just for the nights?" she asked hesitantly. I nodded. "And in my own room?" Another nod. "Okay," she said finally. "We need to stop by my house so I can pick up Meth and feed the animals. I'll stay with you at La Push, at least until my brother gets back."

I couldn't restrain my massive fist pump. She heard it and grinned. "Don't take it personally. I'm just petrified to be blind, alone, and unarmed without knowing what danger I was in tonight."

*****

HEATHER

I was still shaking a little, but managed to conceal it by clutching my travel-bag tightly in my hands. All those noises, and the wolves - there had been _four_ of the enormous creatures! - had completely and thoroughly freaked me out. I was pitiful, and I couldn't even go into my room without dragging poor Jacob with me. He'd gone with me to feed the animals, too, and all the dogs liked him just as much as Meth seemed to. Weird.

He was like an anchor in my dark world, holding me to my sanity. His steadfast warmth and guiding hand led me out of the car and safely up the steps, easy as you please. Meth followed, a little excited by the new scene but under control. Out of habit I waited for her to signal me before opening the door. I needn't have bothered. Jacob was there well ahead of me, pulling it open and ushering me through.

"Welcome to our humble abode," he said with a grin. "Again."

I walked around, letting my fingers trail over the walls, shelves, piles of books, trying to learn everything. I paused when my exploring hand met warm flesh. Jacob had intercepted me by standing against the wall. I could almost feel the heat of his smirk.

"Aren't you absolutely dying of curiosity?" he asked softly. "Seems like there's no time to familiarize yourself with the terrain."

He was right, of course - now I was frantic with curiosity. "Just put my bag down and take me someplace quiet where we can talk," I said firmly. "Right now," I said, just in case there was any doubt.

"Yes, ma'am," he said smartly. Picking me up, he swung me easily over his shoulder and ducked through the doorway. His smooth steps ascended up the steep staircase, turned left, walked twenty paces, then stopped. He opened a door, kept walking, let me down on something soft and bouncy. A bed.

"Is this your room?" I asked suspiciously. "I told you I want my own room -" His warm fingers over my lips stopped me.

"It's only temporary. This is the only place I'm never disturbed," he explained.

"Where's Meth?" I asked finally, pushing his fingers aside.

"Downstairs wandering around," he said firmly. "Now. Let's talk."

I settled back on the bed and only stiffened slightly when he stretched out beside me, placing his arm over my head possessively.

"First of all," said Jacob carefully, "Perhaps I should ask - do you believe in myths?"

I paused. "Before tonight? Sort of… I believe there could be nonhuman life out there, if that's what you mean. After tonight, though, I most assuredly do."

He sighed, his palm running down my cheek slowly. "Well, it just so happens that certain myths are true."

"I get the feeling you're talking about a specific myth," I said, suspicious again.

His finger trailed lower, tracing the curves of my throat, and I sighed, instinctively snuggling closer to him. "Well," he began slowly. "Yes. I'm not sure if there's even a good way to say this, so I'll just come out and say it: werewolves do exist."

I jerked a little, but didn't utter a sound - waiting for the rest. His fingers had sunk even lower, now, to the high neck of my muscle shirt, tracing the circle neckline from one shoulder to the other.

"I am a werewolf," he said slowly. "All of us are. Leah, Embry, Paul, Seth, and all the rest."

I could feel his gaze burning into me as he waited for my reaction. I guess it made sense. His heat, the dogs liking him, the accelerated heartbeat, the size, the strength, the wolves… everything fit together. I nodded slowly. I was a little freaked, but deep inside I was acknowledging the fact that this was actually really cool.

"So you're a werewolf, then," I said, trying to keep the trembling from my voice. His fingers stilled on my shoulder, his whole body froze. "Prove it," I said defiantly.

I turned to him and placed my hands, open-palmed, on his bare chest. I ignored the flicker of electricity and his soft gasp. "Prove it and change. Now. I know you can do it, you just did in the park, so don't give me any full-moon-only bogus either." I felt amazingly bold and somewhat lightheaded.

"I can't phase with you touching me," Jacob protested. I felt every word reverberating through my palms and shuddered slightly.

"Why not?" I demanded, slumping back down.

"Because it's dangerous. It's sort of a violent process."

"Well, since I can't see you do it, you have to prove it somehow," I insisted, biting my lip. "Can I just hold your hand?"

"No." His voice was harsh and low.

I raised my hand and tugged tentatively at the ends of his shoulder length hair, petting its glossy smoothness. I'd bet anything it was black. "What about your hair? I could just hold the end of your hair, so I know you didn't do some sort of trick and swap yourself with a wolf."

He hesitated for a long, heavy moment, then slowly nodded. I felt the nod through his hair and wriggled, suddenly excited. "Okay, go," I commanded, taking a firm hold on his hair.

He sighed and climbed off the bed, kneeling on the floor. He took a deep breath, then began shaking. I could feel the trembling, the power that coursed through him uncontrollably, and it frightened me. A wave of heat flashed out from his body and engulfed me, causing sweat to break out momentarily on my forehead. Then I was jerked forward as the piece of hair I held was suddenly shortened. I held my breath and ran my hand over his fur. It was real, then. There was no way that had been faked. My boyfriend - okay, just my friend - was a werewolf.

"You were telling the truth," I breathed. "Can I feel?"

His head nodded under my palm and I knelt down beside him. He loomed over me, larger than any wolf had a business being, filling up the whole room with his vitality. Starting at his head, I slowly began to trail my fingers through his thick fur, feeling the huge, perfectly pointed ears, the long nose with the warm, wet tip - he licked my fingers as I ran them over his mouth, and I couldn't help laughing. I buried my face the soft fur of his chest, running my hands up and down his back. When I trailed my palms around and began rubbing his stomach, he flipped over and growled at me when I stopped, just like one of my dogs. I laughed and started scratching his chest.

That was when something strange happened. I felt the playful mood completely evaporate and my hand spread deeper inside his fur. I rubbed slowly, rhymically, not paying attention to my hand, concentrating instead on what this strange new feeling was. Then the fur under my palm turned to heated skin and I gasped as the human Jacob appeared beside me, lying on his back on the floor. Naked as the day he was born.

He laughed hoarsely at my sudden gasp and reached down to pull on his shorts again. Then he lay still again. My hand traced his eyelids, half-closed and drowsy. My other hand began to move on his chest again, tracing the muscles there. I didn't know what had come over me, but I was filled with an insatiable curiosity - what would it be like to kiss Jacob Black? I felt him slowly sitting up, looming closer and closer, and my eyes dropped closed of their own accord. My parted lips let out a sigh involuntarily as I leaned into his chest. His lips were so close, so close to mine…

"So does this mean you've told her about the imprinting?" Billy's cheerful voice came from the doorway.

Jacob sucked in his breath and jerked away, leaving my side to go to the door. "How'd you get up here?"

"I carried him." Leah's voice. "I'm glad you know about us, Heather - no more hiding the strength and all that." She actually did sound pleased. "We just came to make sure Heather wasn't fainting or something. Most girls would, if their boyfriend suddenly told them he was a werewolf."

"Heather's not most girls," said Jacob proudly, crossing back to me. He settled on the bed directly behind me and drew my head back between his knees, then started running his fingers through my hair.

"Again I ask," said Billy patiently. "Have you told her about imprinting?"

"No," Jacob snapped. "We are not speaking of that just yet."

"Well, such a powerful thing shouldn't be ignored for long," said Leah brightly. "Heather, I should let you guys talk some more, but when you're ready for bed, let me know and I'll toss your stuff up."

"Thanks," I said absently noticing them leaving. My attention was focused on Jacob. "Okay. What is imprinting?"

He sighed. "I wish they hadn't said anything. Really, you don't want to know. Yet."

"Yes, I do," I insisted, rising to my knees and turning.

"No, you don't."

"Why not?" I demanded, pulling myself up to the bed beside him.

Another long sigh. "Because… because you're not ready for it," he said slowly. "Look, Heather, do you trust me?"

I thought about that for a moment and discovered that, miraculously, I did. For some weird reason, this completely stranger, my new acquaintance, this werewolf, Jacob Black, had my complete and total trust.

"Yes," I said honestly. "I do trust you."

"Well." He took a deep breath. "Then trust me when I say that you are really better off not knowing what imprinting is right now. I just think it would freak you out."

"Oh, come on," I scoffed. "I could take a werewolf, but I couldn't take this whole weird imprinting thing?"

"Believe me, the two are completely different in nature," said Jacob dryly. "Just believe me. For your own sake."

"Okay," I said reluctantly. "For now. I'm not giving up, you know. I just don't understand what could be worse than finding out you're a mythical creature?"

"Oh, take it from me, it can get much worse," he said bitterly. Then his tone changed - it held wonder, love a hint of excitement. "Much worse, or much better, depending on how everything turns out, that is," he corrected himself.

"Stop it, just stop," I said, scowling. "The more you talk about it the more curious I'm getting."

"Okay, okay," he said, laughing. "What do you want to talk about instead?"

"Why don't we talk about what happened tonight? I mean, I know you're a werewolf, which explains a lot, but what is it you were protecting me from, precisely?"

His chest rose and fell as he took another huge breath. Then, taking my hand and stroking it likely with his thumb, he rested his forehead against mine. His words were husky and low, in that intimate murmur that always made me weak-kneed, and his breath washing over my face was like a wild perfume.

"You see… not only are there werewolves… but there are also vampires."

It took a couple of minutes for that one to sink in. When it did, I sort of wished it hadn't.


	6. Chapter 6

JACOB:

I was so glad that part was over with. It always scared me to see Heather freaking out, and the vampire comment had pushed her over the edge. After several minutes of disbelief, hysterical laughter and hyperventilating, she had settled down against me again. I couldn't believe how much closer we'd gotten in one day alone, and my hopes about blind imprinting were once again raising their heads in my mind.

She was tracing her fingers along my shoulder as if she was trying to convince herself of the reality of the situation, and even those feather-soft touches sent a thrill through my bones. Finally I captured her hand between my fingers.

"Please, enough," I said jokingly. "If you don't want to be any more than friends, you'd better stop touching me right now."

There was a moment's hesitation that left my heart jumping in my throat, then she withdrew her hand and settled an inch further away on the bed. "Sorry," she said softly. She was hoarse from her hysterics earlier, and cleared her throat. "So… there are vampires, then. And one of them was attacking me." She looked up at me, little-girl eyes lost and afraid. "So are there a lot of these… things… wandering around, looking to suck out people's blood? My blood?"

"Well…" I hesitated, wondering whether or not to tell her about the Cullens. Her color and breathing pattern was normal, though, so I thought she was ready. "Yes. Sort of. But before you go off again, let me explain."

She took a deep breath. "I'll just pretend I'm having a dream and I'll be fine, I promise."

"Yes, perhaps it's easier if you don't try to believe it," I agreed thoughtfully. "Have you heard anything about the Cullens?"

"No - except for meeting Edward Cullen on the beach today," she answered. She shivered slightly - "His hands were cold," she recalled. Then the implications struck her and she sucked in her breath. "You mean he was… the Cullens are… what?"

"That's the complication," I said, taking her hand. "You see, there are the kind of roving bloodsuckers we took care of tonight - they do eat humans." I couldn't keep the growl from escaping, and Heather patted my shoulder. "But there are also a different kind - they settle in one place and don't feed on human blood."

"And that's the Cullens," Heather guessed with a little sigh. "So how do they survive?"

"Animals," I said hoarsely. "Mountain lions, bears, wolves -"

"Wolves," she gasped. "No wonder you're natural enemies."

"Glad you get the picture," I said dryly. "Not that I could stand them even if they didn't eat my… um… brethren, for lack of a better term."

"Why not?"

"Because they're freaking annoying," I said irritably. "Call me jealous, but everybody loves the bloodsuckers, falls under their spell, and none of them realize that the Cullens would so much rather be sucking their blood than socializing." I paused, frowning for a moment. "I guess it's not so much jealousy, either. The thing is… they may not feed on humans, but they still want to. The necessity - the thirst - it's still there, even though they deny it. That's what disgusts me."

"But they can't help who they are," said Heather gently.

I scowled. She wasn't supposed to take their side. "I know," I growled tensely.

"And you have to kind of admire them," she said thoughtfully. She ignored my stiff muscles and dark scowl. "Imagine what it would be like for you, always being hungry but never being able to eat - yet never being able to die." She stopped and looked up, hesitating. "Or if you were in love, and were with that person every day, but never got to kiss him, were never loved in return. How hard that would be." She sighed and her face clouded.

She must be thinking about that guy - the jerk who dumped her after the accident. The mere thought of him sent waves of heat down my spine, and only Heather's cool little fingers kept my grip on my human form. However, through the anger, I could sort of see what she was getting at. After all, I had imprinted on her - I couldn't even imagine purposefully turning away from her, denying myself her company every day. For one brief, painful moment I had a glimpse of what the Cullens could possibly be feeling. Then it was gone.

"So…" I took a deep breath and forced a grin back onto my features. Somehow she could tell when I was smiling. "Are you ready for the next freaky fact?"

She laughed a little nervously. "There's more?"

"Oh, yeah." I grinned genuinely this time. "You have no idea."

"Are you going to tell me about imprinting now?" she asked eagerly.

"No, not yet." I touched her hair where it flowed over my arm, and she shivered. "This freaky fact is about vampires, sweetheart. You're still not ready for the imprinting."

"Okay," she sighed. "Fine. What?"

"Edward Cullen can hear your thoughts, too." I paused, holding my breath, watching her face carefully.

Her features were perfectly blank, then her lips quirked up in a smile. "Okay, why not? I believe it. That's more than a little scary, but it explains a lot."

"What do you mean?" I was confused.

"Today at the beach - there were these long silences and I could almost hear the tension pouring off you two. I had a feeling there was more going on than I'd heard."

"You were right - most of that conversation was in my own head," I admitted. "You're observant, you know - I'm glad all this came out tonight. I don't know how much longer the secrets of the Pack could have been kept anyway."

"Can all vampires read minds?" she asked.

"No, just Edward. Then there's Jasper, who messes with your emotions, and Alice, who can… er… see the future." I recalled the earthquake and frowned.

"See the future, huh?" She sounded amused. "Handy for gambling purposes and stock markets, I would imagine."

"Part of the reason the Cullens are so loaded," I agreed, laughing. "I think they keep huge piles of cash as stuffing in their arm chairs."

She smiled and leaned against me, soft hair spilling over my chest. "Jacob, this is so weird," she said quietly. One hand crept up to rest on my chest, and she cuddled closer, sliding over until she was almost in my lap. I froze. This was new - different - not good. What was she doing?

"What's weird?" I asked, trying to ignore the sensations from her hair and hands. I sucked in a breath as she scrambled all the way into my lap and laid her head on my shoulder. A slight frown covered her features. "What is it, Heather?"

"Well…" she paused, frowning harder. "This is going to sound really strange and obsessive, I suppose, so bear with me. I feel so different with you, than I've ever felt with anyone. When I'm with you, I'm so happy and all I want to do is see you. I just want to look at you, just once. And when I'm away from you I feel so alone, and sad. I don't understand it, and it frightens me."

I couldn't stop the slow grin from spreading across my face. That sure as heck sounded like the first signs of imprinting to me. As I smiled, she lifted her head, her features cautious. She stood up in front of me, and even with me sitting and her standing, my head was above hers. She reached forward with trembling, pale fingers towards my face, then stopped abruptly, a centimeter from my cheek.

"Can I… can I touch?" she asked again. "I want to see you - but I want to see you my way."

I nodded, then realizing she couldn't see the movement, somehow breathed out the word - "Yes."

HEATHER:

My heart was pounding, my breath coming in quick gasps, and I was shaking - but I knew somehow, deep inside, that this was what I needed to do. My fingers brushed his cheek and I lifted my other hand to join the first. I ran my thumbs along his cheekbones, down his jaw line to his firm chin. The barest outline of a face began to take shape inside the swirling mists of my vision. I traced up the indent of his chin to his lips - wide, firm, pressed into a tight line as my fingers invaded his features. When I ran my index finger across those lips, they loosened and he sighed, and the lips appeared in my vision as well. His nose was next - I traced the long, narrow point and the flattened nostrils, flared with his quick breathing.

The face was almost complete in my mind, now - he was handsome, wild and dark and impossibly good looking. His hair, as I touched it, came tumbling around his face in my head, black as night, shoulder-length, smooth and glossy.

I saved his eyes for last. I knew they would be the most momentous - they would matter the most. Everything would change if I could just see his eyes. Now was the moment. My fingers shook even more as I traced his eyebrow, down to his eyelid. Very gently brushed his eyelashes, traced the bottom of his almond-shaped, beautiful eyes.

With a suddenness that made me start back, the dark eyes appeared in that face, floating in the grey mist. The eyes… they were - pleasure and pain shot through me, stars filled my eyelids, the world turned in a blinding whirl of color around me.

The face faded, the eyes faded, the stars and colors, all faded into grey mist again. But my world was changed forever.

"Um… Heather?"

I squeaked and fell over backwards as Jacob's low, rough voice cut through all the incredible, weird, awful feelings swirling through me. "Jacob, you… you're… what just happened to me?" I didn't even recognize the breathless, awed sound of my own voice.

"Heather, are you all right?" He sounded urgent, anxious. "How do you feel?"

I sat up, took a deep breath. I actually felt good. I felt free - better than I had since - since forever. And I felt hopelessly, helplessly in love, like I was drowning in the huge wash of love that flowed over me.

"I feel… different," I finally managed in a strangled voice. "Weird. Amazing? Wonderful." I sighed.

"Hey, Heather." Jacob sounded excited, now, incredulous. "Heather, I think I'm going to tell you about imprinting, now."

"Really?" I smiled broadly - I couldn't seem to stop smiling. "Okay." I hopped up on the bed next to him. He wrapped his arms around me and it felt so good - so right, that I hugged him right back.

He stilled in surprise, then chuckled. "Yep, definitely telling you about imprinting," he said, laughing. "Remember how you said you believed in soul mates before?"

"Yeah - I sort of do again," I admitted. My voice was a little muffled as my face was somewhat buried in his armpit, but I liked it there.

"Well, when we become werewolves there's this possibility - faint and rare, legend has it, but it happens more often than people think - called imprinting. It's when two souls are so closely entwined in a cosmic way - they set eyes on each other and know in that instant that they are destined to be together. It's fate, it's not something you can control. It's wild - it's beyond love, even." He stopped and hugged me even tighter for a moment.

"Can't breathe!" I called quickly. He released his grip on me and I wriggled up to his lap again. "So what are you saying? Love at first sight really does exist? It's not just lust, or anything like that, right?"

"Of course not," said Jacob quickly. "Some of the Pack have imprinted on three-year-olds. It's really not like lust at all. It's more like… like knowing you could do anything if only that person asked you to do it. Knowing that you had to make that person happy no matter what the cost to yourself."

I sighed - that's just how I felt right now. "Have you imprinted on me, then, Jacob?"

His voice was no more than a throaty sigh when he answered, pulling me closer, enfolding me in his warmth. "Yes. Oh, yes, Heather Champion." He hesitated for a long moment. "I was afraid, when I met you, that it wouldn't be possible… for us… to be together in the normal way. Because you were blind, I wasn't sure if you could imprint back or not." He pressed a soft kiss to the back of my head. "But it appears that I was wrong." He was suddenly anxious. "I mean, I think so. You have imprinted on me, right?"

I laughed, exultant. "I don't know what else it could be." I sighed and looked up at him. "So what happens now?"

Whatever I had been expecting, it certainly wasn't what he said.

"We move out of Forks as soon as possible."

JACOB:

Heather stared at me blankly for a moment, then shook her head slowly. "What? Why? That's ridiculous - I just moved here."

"I do have a good reason," I said quickly. "It's sort of a long story, but in short - in approximately three weeks a very bad earthquake is going to hit the area. I don't want you anywhere near it."

"But… my brother is a geologist," said Heather, still shaking her head. "He wouldn't have let me move here in the first place if that was true."

"They think it will hit Seattle," I said. "Really, I have this on good authority. I may not like the Cullens, but Alice is never wrong."

"Well -" Heather blinked. "In that case, I guess - I trust you, anyway, Jacob - so I guess I believe it. But I can't just move away. What about the rest of the people here? How will you get them to move?"

"I don't know," I sighed, running a hand through my hair. "We're thinking about it. And you _can_ just move away. You have to."

"Listen, Jacob, just because I love you and want to be with you more than I want anything else in the world doesn't give you the right to boss me around," said Heather firmly. "I am a capable adult, and I have my own house, and we are not married, so you can't tell me what to do."

"We could fix that," I suggested. "Marry me, Heather."

"Why - so you can boss me around?" She sounded amused. "No."

"Please?"

"No."

"Seriously, Heather - this isn't about the earthquake. I love you too. I want to be with you."

"No."

"Why not?" I sighed, frustrated. "We belong together. Nothing can possibly go wrong between us."

"Okay." Heather leaned her head against me and picked up my hand, playing with it as she spoke. Probably hoping the soft touches would soften me up. It worked. "First of all, I do agree that we belong together, and it would be a beautiful marriage. But in the eyes of the world, we're strangers - maybe acquaintances at best. We met two days ago, Jacob."

"Who cares about the world," I scoffed.

"My family," said Heather gently. "Speaking of which - you haven't even met my parents."

"They'll love me," I said confidently.

"And my brother…"

"He'll love me too."

She laughed and shook her head, tracing her way across my palm and up the bottom of my arm. I sucked in my breath at the feathery trail of heat her cool fingers left on my arm. "You're awfully confident," she said softly.

"I'm seven feet tall," I said jokingly. "I can afford to be confident."

"You haven't met my brother or my dad - or my mom, for that matter," she reminded me gently. "You'll find that they aren't exactly… er… lacking in inches."

"Well, I'm very loveable," I said innocently. "How could they resist me?"

She laughed at that, leaning towards me, tilting her head up. "How indeed?" Her voice whispered soft against my skin. I leaned down towards her slowly - fully aware of the fact that we still hadn't kissed yet. I held my breath, my eyes just starting to close in anticipation…

"Oh lord!" Heather pulled away. "How could I have missed that?"

My fists clenched - frustration pulsed through me. "What?"

"My brother is a geologist," she said, excitement coloring her tone. "A geologist! If we told him about the earthquake, he could tell the people who matter and they could change the forecast, evacuate Forks and save everyone!"

I was filled with hope for just a moment, then my shoulders sank down again. "A good thought, Heather," I said softly. "But even if you could get your brother to believe you, what is he supposed to say to the 'people who matter'? All evidence points to the earthquake hitting Seattle."

She sighed and bowed her head. "Well, I think we should at least tell Drew when he gets back, just to see if he can think of anything."

"If you can do it without divulging Pack secrets," I said firmly, "then fine." I sighed, then in an abrupt movement I pulled her into my lap.

She stilled, and her face held cautious excitement. She placed her open palms on my chest, gently caressing the heated skin, then shifted to a kneeling position between my legs. Leaning forward, she slid her hands up to wrap them around my neck. I wrapped my arms all the way around her body and pulled her forward, crushing her against the length of my body. I touched her lips softly with one hand so she would know where I was headed, then leaned over and pressed my lips gently against hers. The pressure was gentle at first, her lips cool and still against mine. Then the heat began to spring up between us, her lips parted slightly, her breath was sweet and hot. I angled my mouth over hers and slid the very tip of my tongue lightly over her bottom lip.

She gasped lightly against my mouth and began to pull away - apparently she hadn't done much kissing. I soothed her, stroking her back slowly with my hands and pulling her snugly against me again. Then I slid both of my hands up to either side of her face, stroking her cheekbones with my thumb and concentrating all my attention on the kiss. It was amazing - I was no stranger to kisses, and this one left all my previous ones far, far in the dust. So far that I actually felt sorry for those girls that I'd kissed before, sorry that we'd had to bear with the mediocrity of those kisses. This kiss was… truly indescribable. I'm serious when I say - there are no words. No words.

HEATHER

I lay with my head resting on Jacob's chest, completely bathed in contentment. Our first kiss had been so perfect, I had almost embarrassed myself by crying afterwards. Now his warm hands were combing through my hair, languidly passing from the crown of my head to below my waist. I sighed and snuggled in closer - so happy.

"Will you marry me?" Jacob asked softly.

I chuckled under my breath. "No."

"Please?"

"As me again later," I said, grinning.

He waited for a moment in silence. I knew it was coming, and my grin stretched wider. Sure enough, a moment later -

"Will you marry me?"

I sat up and felt around near his head. Locating the pillow, I pulled it out from beneath his head and hit him with it. "No, no, no!" I accentuated each no with a hit from the pillow. "I told you, it's too soon. We need to make this look real. I'll take you to meet my parents, we can move in together for awhile - keep everything normal."

I laid my fingers on his lips, sighing when I felt his dark scowl. "Really, Jacob - you know it takes a real man to accept rejection."

No answer, just the scowl.

"You know…" I stretched out languorously next to him, brushing against his whole body with mine and walking my fingers up his bare chest. He couldn't hide his reactions - quickened breath and heartbeat, warming skin. I laughed softly. "I don't suppose it ever occurred to you that I might like to be courted a little?"

"Courted?" He caught my hands with a groan and held them against his chest. "Jeez, Heather, that's all I've been doing since I met you."

"I think I deserve a little longer than two days of courtship," I remarked off hand, sitting up and pulling away from him. I folded my arms over my legs and rested my chin on my knees. "Maybe I should make you work for your kisses."

He growled deep in his throat, and his heat approached me across the bed. I longed to wrap my arms around him, hold him close, but I resisted.

"You know you can't deny me," said Jacob. He sounded persuasive and sly, and a little amused.

I gasped as I felt his hard fingers brush aside my hands easily, unfold my legs and wrap them around his waist like I was clay and he was molding me. I stared in shock, mouth dropping open, then blushed. I started wiggling around, trying to get free, and he just laughed.

"If you want to jump to the next stage in our relationship right here, right now, by all means keep wriggling," he said, voice teasing but with an undercurrent of truth.

I stilled abruptly and crossed my arms. "I'm not kissing you. You can put me into compromising positions, but I won't kiss you."

"Why not, Heather?" He sounded gentle, still amused.

"To prove that you do have to court me before you get my favors," I insisted.

His face loomed closer and I stuck up my hand between our lips. "Oh, no you don't, buster."

He held my hands captive and pressed his lips firmly against mine. My heart jumped, but I kept my lips still, cold. It took so much effort not to attack him and knock his socks off with a steamy kiss - but again, I resisted. Finally, after pushing relentlessly at my tight lips with his very warm tongue, he pulled back. As a last dig, I wiped my mouth off with the back of my hand, then grinned as he growled.

"Okay, you win," he said, releasing me. "I'll court you."

I smiled smugly. "Thank you."

"You're welcome." He paused for a moment, then laughed. "Okay, Heather - it's late and you need some sleep. Please can I have a real kiss before I take you to your room?"

I sighed. "Oh, fine."

We were both laughing until our lips met, and the internal fireworks commenced.


	7. Chapter 7

STILL HEATHER:

"Will you marry me?"

I blinked and sat up, startled by the suddenness of the query. My head hit something hard and warm - Jacob, who was leaning over me. The contact brought everything rushing back with a vengeance, and I fell back against my pillow with a groan. Sleeping was so much simpler than being awake these days.

"Will you marry me?" Jacob again.

"No," I moaned, my voice muffled by the pillow I pulled over my face. "It's much to early to be asking me annoying questions."

"Just wanted to get it over with for the day," he said cheerfully. His massive weight settled on the end of the bed and he pulled my covers off. He stilled when he saw my sleeping gear.

I pulled back defensively. "What? It's not my fault you barged in and pulled off my sheets."

"Very sexy, Heather," he breathed. "Biker shorts are definitely your bedroom look."

I blushed. "Um, thanks. Now get out so I can change! Where's Meth?"

A bark answered me and the furry warmth covered me. I smiled and scratched her chest. "Hey, there, beautiful. Miss me?"

Jacob was pouting. "How come your dog gets a good morning pet, but not me?"

"Quite simple - I love her more," I said cheerfully. When he groaned pitifully, I laughed and leaned forward, kissing his shoulder, then moving my lips slowly up his neck, his jaw, touched his ear, then across his cheek to his mouth. I lingered there for another moment, then pulled back. "Happy now?"

He growled and gripped my by the shoulders, pulling me forward for a much steamier, longer kiss. When he pulled back he gave a happy sigh. "Now I am," he said. "Hurry up and change - I'll be outside the door waiting for you."

Great. No pressure. As soon as he'd left I snapped my fingers. "Meth, shirt. Fetch."

I'd trained Meth for emergencies like this one, so she knew what to do. Jacob had laid out my clothes last night, but I didn't know where. Meth brought me a soft, stretch-cotton shirt and I pulled it on, grateful that it wasn't small and lacy. It would have been tempting Jacob too much to be wearing something like that all day.

Meth helped me finish getting dressed, and I smoothed my collar, hoping against hope that Jacob had a better fashion sense than any other guy and hadn't put me in pink or red. I grabbed my cane and whistled for Meth, who guided me to the door. When I opened it I was immediately enveloped in a warm pair of arms and lifted.

"Breakfast was served two hours ago," said Jacob as we descended the stairs.

"Oh, lord, the dogs!" I strained frantically in his arms. "What time is it?"

"Only nine," he assured me. I relaxed a little.

"I swear, you're bad for me, Jacob," I said, playing with his hair. "I used to be up at six every morning."

"It was all the heavy petting and necking - it wore you out."

I shrieked in disgust and hit him on the shoulder - hurting nobody but myself, of course. "Stop that."

We came to the kitchen and Jacob brought me a plate. "Eggs, one o'clock, toast, three o'clock and orange slices at nine o'clock," he said cheerfully.

"Well, well," I grinned. "Look who's been doing research. Thank you. You need to take me back to town as soon as I've finished here," I said as I ate. "Today is a training day for the dogs."

"I'd really like it if you moved to La Push - at least until your brother comes back," said Jacob shyly. "I mean, not just at night, but during the day, too. You could train your dogs here."

"I can't," I said gently. "Not that I wouldn't enjoy that, but all of my training equipment is at home."

"Would you mind if I stayed with you, then?" he asked eagerly.

"Don't you have a job or something?" I asked, laughing.

"I'm sort of a mechanic," he said hesitatingly. "I also do odd jobs around town on my free time."

"What? No college education, no steady job?" I frowned in disapproval. "Another good reason not to get married just yet."

"Well…" he paused. "With my schedule and duties, it's difficult to maintain a steady nine-to-five."

"What do you mean, duties?" I asked with my mouth full.

"The reason the Pack exists is to protect humans," he replied quietly. "Mostly from leeches, but we have to help them in as many ways as we can. We have patrols, especially around the border, constantly, and everybody takes shifts."

"Oh. Yes, I can see the difficulties." I frowned. "But how do you live, if nobody can have a job?"

"Well, the government gives us some money," he said. "And living on the reservation is pretty much free. There's also lots of money in the family - so we really don't have anything to worry about."

"So my boyfriend is going to appear lazy and shiftless, living on his inheritance?" I shook my head, grinning. "That'll really go over well with my parents."

"I told you, they'll love me," he said, patting my hand. "Are you finished?"

I realized with a start that I was. "Sure."

He took my plate and rinsed it off, then took my hand. "Let's go to your house and train some dogs," he said enthusiastically.

JACOB:

The next week went by in a very strange way… it was hard to decide if it went quickly or slowly. Every minute I spent with Heather was like a diamond, cemented and isolated in my mind as the best moment of my life. Every single one. Despite the rapt attention I paid to every minute, the whole week whizzed by, and I was shocked when Heather announced that she couldn't hang out at La Push with me because her brother was coming home that day.

"It's Saturday," she said, smiling slightly. "Didn't you remember?"

"No," I answered, mouth still hanging open. "But - it's too soon! We've just gotten Betsy to piss in the litterbox instead of the carpet."

"No thanks to you," she said, laughing.

That cat had been the bane of my existence every since I met the foul creature. It's true, we were sort of natural enemies - but Betsy was a particularly odious specimen of the whole odious species. I had offered to help train the dogs, but Heather had started me on Betsy just for a laugh. Believe me, it _had_ been a laugh.

"I cannot tell you how glad I am that we're almost done with that stupid cat," I said with gritted teeth.

"But you're very good when working with dogs," said Heather innocently. "I wonder why?"

We laughed together, then she sobered, folding her hands. We were seated on the front porch of Billy's house, crammed together in the old, ripped loveseat. I took up most of it, but she didn't seem to mind.

"Will you marry me?" I asked in a conversational tone.

"No," she said, grinning. "You asked earlier than usual today."

"Just wanted to get my daily rejection over with," I said, momentarily dejected. Not that I'd been expecting anything else.

"You really need to take me home," she said. "Drew gets home at ten."

"Sure, sure," I said, sighing. "Are you going to introduce me to him?"

"Well…" she bit her lip. "I guess so. But we can't reveal how obsessed with each other we are just yet."

"No problem," I assured her confidently. Inside I was quailing - keep my hands off Heather and pretend to be merely new friends for a whole day? This was going to be interesting. But it was better than not being with her at all.

She seemed to sense my thoughts with that uncanny ability she had, and patted my arm softly. "We'll be fine," she said, smiling. "Let's go. We have to convince Drew about the earthquake and save Forks."

"That's a tall order for this early in the morning," I muttered, standing and taking her hand.

"Good thing you're so tall," she said with a wicked smile as I helped her into the car.

I groaned and crossed to my side, slamming the door behind me. "Like I haven't heard that one before."

"What can I say? I'm a total cliché at heart." She shrugged, still grinning.

We took off down the road, Heather's hair flying all around inside the car and whipping into my face. I spat out a lock of it.

"Didn't your kindergarten teachers every tell you to keep your hair to yourself, princess?" I asked irritably.

"If you didn't drive like a maniac it wouldn't be a problem," said Heather serenely.

She had me. I eased up on the gas a little - we were almost in town anyway. Her hair stopped writhing like lives snakes and settled around her shoulders. She crossed her arms and smirked, and I rolled my eyes. Pulling up in front of her house, I sat still for a moment. I looked at the clock - nine forty-five. Her brother, Heather had assured me, was always very prompt, and would arrive precisely at nine. Then the friend façade would begin. This was my last chance…

I reached over, pulled her towards me and gave her a whopping kiss. She squeaked in surprise, then sighed and melted against me. Her lips, warm and soft, shifted under mine and I groaned, holding her closer. I felt the moment crystallize, harden, sparkle - it was another diamond, cemented with the thousands of others on the Wall of Heather inside my head. That sounds really psycho, but I swear it felt right.

Finally she pulled back, breathless, dazed. With a dreamy smile, she touched her slightly puffy lips. "Naughty Jacob. Now I look all kissed, don't I?"

"Yep." I grinned. "So what do you say we abandon the just friends idea?"

"Nonsense. Get me inside and I'll put on some lipstick. He'll never notice." She unbuckled herself, so I dashed around, swung open her door and grabbed her hand. We started up the walk to her house - Meth was barking up a storm in welcome inside. The German Shepherd was a little jealous of all the time Heather was spending with me, but I kept the dog in line. I kind of understood, though, so I tried to include Meth in as many outings as I could.

Heather opened the door and went in, grabbing her cane and tapping her way to her room. I wandered into the kitchen and stopped when I saw the Bible open on the table. I bent and looked at the page - it was from the Prophecy of Isaiah. I frowned, staring but not seeing the words - something niggled at the back of my mind.

Heather came in and I looked up quizzically. "Um, Heather? Dare I ask why there's a non-Braille Bible open here?"

"Oh." She smiled fondly as she came up beside me. "Drew is really into Christianity. Whenever he comes over he reads to me from the Bible. I mean, I'm no fanatic, but I do love listening to him read, and the Bible's words are so beautiful, you know. Like poetry."

"It's open to the Prophecy of Isaiah," I said, frowning.

"Is it?" She shrugged. "I didn't notice."

"Yes… the prophecy. You say - does Drew believe in miracles, then? And prophets?" An idea began to take shape in my mind, and I pulled at my lips, thinking.

"Yes, he does." She sounded surprised. "What are you thinking, Jacob?"

I grinned widely and squeezed her in a massive hug. I vaguely heard a car pulling up into the driveway, so I pulled her close and whispered as quickly as I could get it all out. "That's how we convince Drew! We introduce him to Alice, have her do a few tricks to prove she's real, then have her tell him about the earthquake. He'll believe her and figure out some way to help Forks - with no danger to exposing vampires or werewolves." I stopped, hesitating. "Well - unless he'll go all crazy and want Alice to be in the newspaper or something. She wouldn't go for that."

"No, no, it's a good idea!" she said, excited now. "There's Drew - we'll talk about this later. But I think, knowing Drew, that it could work!"

I led her to the door, then stood aside as she opened it. "Drew! Come in. How was your trip? I missed you." Heather was smiling widely, and she grabbed Drew's hand and pulled him inside, shutting the door behind him. "Drew, I want you to meet my friend Jacob. Jacob has been very helpful to me this week - guiding me and all that. Jacob, this is Drew."

I must say, the man was much more formidable than I had expected. He was easily six feet nine inches, maybe more, and almost as broad-shouldered as I was. Let's just say - he wouldn't necessarily be easy pickings. He looked about thirty, with a square jaw and firm, no-nonsense brown eyes. He was looking me up and down with a suspicious, measuring glance.

"Nice to meet you, Drew," I said with a easy smile. I gave him a handshake, careful to keep it at firm and friendly, not a test of strength. "Heather's told me a lot about you."

"Hmm." He didn't sound impressed. "Thanks for taking care of her while I was gone." He took Heather's arm and tucked it possessively into his arm. "I'm here now, though, so I think you can head back home."

"Drew!" Heather protested. "Jacob is my friend. Be nice."

I shook my head. "It's okay, Heather. A pretty girl like you makes friends with a guy like me and people automatically assume I'm in it for something other than friendship." Well… okay, so I was, but that wasn't common knowledge yet. "Besides, I really do have some things to do." I bent and pecked Heather on the cheek.

She smiled angelically up at me. "Tell Alice I said hi, okay?" she said, wiggling her eyebrows. She knew where I was headed. "And stop by later tonight for dinner. I'd really like you guys to get to know each other."

Drew glowered at me. I glowered back. Heather tripped off towards the kitchen, blithely unaware. I stepped forward and raised one eyebrow at Drew.

"Dare I ask what your problem is?" I asked very, very softly.

"Stay away from my sister, creep." He sounded harsh.

"Look, I really like your sister," I said. "I'm not a creep, I'm not taking advantage of a blind girl, but I am interested in a relationship with her. I know what happened before, and I can assure you that I am not like that at all."

"Hmm." He crossed his arms. He had reason to be suspicious, I suppose - the last guy who'd showed an interest in Heather had been an absolute dick.

"I'll prove it to you," I assured him. "You should go into this with an open mind."

"Well." His voice softened a little. "I guess I can interrogate you at dinner." His lips twitched up in a slight smile and he extended his hand again.

We shook hands, then I went out the door. I didn't stop until I'd reached my car and sank down into the seat. Then I leaned my head back and groaned. This was going to be so much harder than I'd thought. It wasn't just Heather I needed to court - it was her whole family.

Well - there were bigger things afloat right now. I knew Heather loved me, and that's all that mattered. I started up the car and headed down the road. I had some vampires to visit.

Chapter Nine

HEATHER

I listened intently, trying to catch Drew's soft, intense whispers and Jacob's replies. No use. They were undoubtedly talking about me - Drew was so possessive these days, and Jacob was no better. I sighed in relief when I heard Jacob leave safely and Drew joined me in the kitchen.

"So you never answered - how was your trip?" I asked, trying to take his mind from Jacob.

"I missed you," he said with a smile.

"No you didn't," I corrected. "You felt guilty because I was here by myself."

"Well, okay," he admitted. He sat down across from me and picked up the Bible. "Isaiah, huh? Was… was _Jacob_ reading this?"

I snorted. "I can't even imagine Jacob reading a novel, let alone the Bible, Drew."

He grunted in reply, as if to say 'I thought as much.' I stifled a groan. This was going to be harder than even I had thought - I knew he'd like Jacob if he'd just open his mind.

"Look, Drew," I said softly. "I've gotten to know Jacob over this week and I trust him - and I really like him. A _lot_." I emphasized the last word. "He's been so helpful, and gentle, and kind. I know you're worried after the whole thing with Caleb -"

His teeth squeaked audibly as he gritted them together, and I smiled gently. "I'm completely over Caleb, Drew. I'm serious. Ever since I met Jacob, I've realized that Caleb wasn't so great after all." I shook my head, frowning. "I can't believe I spent all those years languishing after him. He's a real asshole."

"Well." Drew sounded impressed. "I'm glad you finally figured that out. If I can't say anything else about this Jacob guy, I can at least say he's brought you to your senses."

I nodded, happy that he was a little more relenting now. "Now let's change the subject," I said, smiling. "Why don't you read something to me?"

He shuffled through the pages of the Bible, muttering to himself. I paused, thinking - it wouldn't hurt to sort of… set the stage, so to speak, for Alice. "Hey, Drew - you believe in miracles and prophecy, foreseeing the future and all that, right?"

He stopped turning pages. "Yes," he said, sounding surprised. "Anything is possible with divine assistance."

"So would you believe it if you met someone who actually could? Tell the future, I mean." I tried to make my question casual.

It didn't fool him. "Have you met anybody like that? In Forks?" He laughed. "Small towns," he muttered, shaking his head. "You never know what you're going to find."

"Well, no, I haven't met her, exactly, but… I've heard rumors." I bit my fingernail, hesitating. "If you met somebody like that, what would you do?"

"I'd ask them to prove themselves, first of all," he said, then paused. "I'd respect their privacy, of course. I know that many holy people choose to serve God in solitude."

That answered that question - Alice's anonymity would be safe. "So Drew, I don't know a lot about what you do," I said slowly. "Geologists are the people who study earthquakes and stuff, right?"

"That's part of what we do, yes," he said, puzzled. "May I ask what all this is leading to, and how the two topics are connected?"

"It's complicated," I said slowly. "I'll explain later, after I've spoken with Jacob."

"You'd better, after dropping all those hints," Drew said, laughing. "I'm really curious now."

"Well - let's just read. How about that story about the five loaves of bread and the two fish?" I suggested. I knew as soon as I mentioned it he'd be off, flipping through, overjoyed that I'd retained some of what he'd read me before. I settled back, filled with real hope for the first time that week.

JACOB:

I gulped, taking a deep breath of fresh air before starting up the steps of the wrap-around porch. I knew the foul vampire stench would hit me with a vengeance once the door opened. I braced myself and raised my hand to knock, then flinched back as the big, burly leech - Emmett, if I remembered correctly - wrenched the door open.

"Jacob Black." The name rolled off his silver tongue like the chorus of a bitter song - somehow, despite the beauty of his voice, he still managed to make it sound like a curse. "What are you doing here? Please tell me you're here to pick a fight, because I'm so in the mood for some werewolf ass-kicking."

"Sorry," I said with a grin. "Not today. I'm actually here to see Alice."

Even before the words had left my lips, the dainty, white-skinned, frail girl danced into the doorway, dodging under Emmett's arms and standing in front of me. A bright, little-girl smile was pasted on her elfin features and her black hair was spiked in all directions, as usual.

"Hello, Jacob," she said, reaching out a tiny, chilly hand.

I stared at it for a moment, then leveled my gaze at her. She shrugged, unabashed, and dropped her hand. "I like your idea, by the way," she said.

Of course, she'd already know why I was here. "I was afraid I'd have to work long and hard to convince you."

She shrugged. "I already know that you'd end up convincing me in the end anyway, so I figured I'd just cut to the chase. I'll meet with Drew for coffee tomorrow at nine o'clock A.M. sharp."

"I'll have Heather talk to him - so he knows not to divulge anything about you to anybody else," I said quickly.

"No need - she's already spoken to him," said Alice, smiling. "I must say, I really do like your girlfriend. She's a nice girl."

"Thanks," I said sharply. "You stay away from her, though. I don't want her to become friends with any bloodsuckers."

"Really, you should learn a little more tolerance," said Alice, her smile growing fixed on her face. "Heather at least understands what it's like for us."

I took a deep breath and let it out slowly. Arguing was not what I'd come for. "Thanks for agreeing to help," I said. "I'm going to introduce you as a very devout young woman who was blessed with the gift of seeing the future. He'll probably have you do a few simple tests, then you can give him the earthquake information and leave." I looked her up and down, lifting one eyebrow at the stylish, well-cut jeans and low-necked silk blouse. "I'd suggest a change of costume, though."

"I need to look like a hermit girl who cares nothing for the world," Alice agreed. Her golden eyes sparkled with laughter and she turned to Emmett, who was still standing still and straight as a huge boulder in the doorway. "Look out, world, here comes holy hermit vampire lady." Her white features assumed an uplifted expression, her eyes attained a far-off look, her frail fingers clasped together and her posture softened. She suddenly looked exactly like a pious waif. Even I forgot for just a moment that she was really a savage leech who survived on blood.

That thought quickly pulled me back to my original purpose and I shook my head. "Thanks, Alice. You'll do," I said with a quick smile. "Meet us at Starbucks, nine o'clock, in your hermit-girl garb."

She was still laughing when Emmett slammed the door shut in my face.

HEATHER

I hate awkward silences. Hate them with a passion. I scowled into the grey mists surrounding me and crossed my arms, tapping my feet on the floor under the dining room table. It seemed that both of the men in my life were determined to be annoying. Well, okay, so they always were - but particularly so tonight.

"So, Drew, how long are you staying?" I asked brightly.

The was a long pause, then Drew cleared his throat. "As long as I'm needed. But it appears that your boyfriend here is making my presence unnecessary."

Before I could answer, Jacob cut in. "You know, I'm kind of glad you left your blind sister alone in a new town. If you hadn't, I'd never have gotten to know her this well."

"I'm kind of glad I left too. The less time I can spend in your company, the better," Drew snapped. "Although I might be a good influence - tame down the wild animal in you. You should really spend more time around civilized people so you can learn to wear clothing at the table."

A low growl grumbled in Jacob's chest, and I placed a hand on his bare forearm, a warning touch. "You guys, please! Make an effort to get along, for my sake."

"It's not my fault your psychotic Amazonian boyfriend keeps insulting me," muttered Drew. "And was that a growl I heard? Seriously, a growl? I was joking about the wild animal thing."

I elbowed him sharply. "Drew, what's all this anger? Isn't there a lot in the Bible about just this sort of thing?"

Jacob was all set to keep on going with the verbal battle until he heard my obvious opening line. He was silent for a moment, and when he spoke again his voice was softer, lighter, like he was making an effort to be less imposing.

"That's right, Drew, I heard you were into Christianity."

"Yeah," said Drew suspiciously. "Don't tell me you're an atheist on top of everything else."

"Well, I used to be," said Jacob. I could hear the slight smirk in his voice.

There was a long pause, then Drew sighed. "Okay, what changed your mind?"

"Well, it was this girl I met - she lives out of town a ways." Jacob stopped for a moment, tapping his fork thoughtfully against his empty plate. "She was… the most amazing person I've ever met. She was so incredible - I mean, you're in her presence one minute and you feel like a new person." Jacob paused uncomfortably, then said in a rush, "And she can tell the future."

I had no idea Jacob was such a good actor. Drew was quiet for a minute. "Heather? Is this what you were talking about this morning?"

"Sort of," I admitted. "Yeah, I guess so. Jacob, why did you bring it up?"

"Well, it's just that I was out on my bike this morning -" I had the feeling he wasn't talking about a little ten-speed here - "and I met up with Alice. That's her name, Alice. And she said something kind of disturbing." Another long pause, then Jacob's voice came, a little uncomfortable. "I know this might sound hard to swallow, because you're a geologist, but she predicted that an earthquake was going to hit Forks in less than a month."

"Impossible," said Drew immediately. "There is a major earthquake coming, but it's definitely hitting Seattle. They've already begun the evacuation process in the endangered parts of the city."

"That's the problem," said Jacob. "Everybody's saying that, but they're wrong. It'll take a turn at the very last second and hit Forks straight on."

There was a very long, loaded silence while Drew pondered and Jacob and I held our collective breaths. Then my brother pushed his plate forward and let out a long sigh. "Okay, Heather. If this is true, it's very serious. We would need to figure something out. Telling others is out of the question, because I'm the only person stupid enough to actually fall for this kind of stuff. It would all have to be on a local level."

I grinned. Drew was already starting to take the initiative. He was so good at that.

"But… I'd need some pretty major proof before I'd actually go making a fool out of myself for this town," said Drew firmly.

"Alice has agreed to meet you for coffee tomorrow morning at nine o'clock," said Jacob cheerfully. "She'll be glad to talk to you then."

"How did she know… oh. The future. Right." Drew sounded awed for a moment, then cleared his throat. "Well, that was a good dinner, Heather."

Hint hint. He might as well have said 'Jacob, you annoying fellow, leave now.' But then, Jacob was never very good at taking hints, so I didn't expect him to leave. Surprise - he did. I should have guessed that he'd have an ulterior motive for being so quiescent, though.

"Well, I'll be off then," he said cheerfully rising. "Heather, be sure to get to bed early tonight. I want you to get your rest." Ha, there it was - the motive.

"Thanks for your concern, Jacob," I said meekly. "I'll walk you to the door." I looped my arm through his and strode towards the front door. He opened it, turned, gave me a swift, hot kiss, and loped down the sidewalk. I listened as his engine revved and he drove slowly around the corner. And stopped. I shook my head, grinning, then turned and felt my way back to the table.

"So what do you think of him, Drew?" I asked, smiling. "Tell me - is he handsome? I've wanted to know ever since I met him."

"I hardly know," said Drew stiffly. "You're not seriously considering dating that gargantuan… thing, are you?"

"Look who's talking," I teased. "Drew, it's nice to have you back, but I'm a big girl now. I really don't have to ask your permission."

"I know." He sighed heavily. "It's just that after Caleb, I feel like I can't trust your judgment anymore." He continued before I could protest. "I know, I know… he was my friend too. Obviously my judgment isn't to be absolutely trusted either."

"Look, Drew - I can't explain how or why, but I know for a fact that Jacob…" I paused, thinking of a good way to phrase it. "Jacob is in a completely different league than Caleb was. I feel more sure about this than I have about anything in my entire life."

There was a heavy silence, and I bit my tongue. Really, really bad slip there. What had happened to not letting him see how obsessed I was? I decided to give him some time to mull that over.

"Well, I'm going to bed," I said cheerfully. "Your upstairs room is all ready for you - good night!"

Silence. I shrugged and turned, gripping my cane and tapping my way down the hall towards my room. I changed into my tight bike shorts - I don't know why, but no matter how cold it was outside, I always seemed to get sweaty while I slept. I discarded my bra, laid it on the bed - just as I was pulling my ragged tank top over my head, I heard the window squeak.

"Jacob," I hissed, complaining. I'd told him I didn't want to get too physical before marriage, but he was always pushing the limits. One of those limits had been watching me get changed.

"What?" I heard the wide grin in his voice and scowled fiercely. "You're already dressed." I didn't turn to face him, didn't answer. Instant remorse filled his tone. "Look, Heather, I swear I didn't see anything. I just got here. Is Drew in bed yet?"

"No, but he's in his room, upstairs - and it's sound proof." I grinned at the remembered joke. A musician had lived here previously, and had practiced in the soundproof room in the middle of the night all the time. I'd put Drew's room up there because of his snoring problem. I wondered briefly if Jacob snored, then flushed when I thought about the situation I would have to be in to find that out.

"Can I come in, then?" Jacob asked.

Hmm. This was a first. However, I didn't have any objection to spending more time with Jacob, so I shrugged. I was sure I could send him away if he got too hot for his own good - just as I was sure he would go if I told him to. I turned and felt my way towards the window. It was already open, so I reached through and pressed my fingertips into the air, searching for Jacob's face. His large, warm hands wrapped around mine and he pulled my head and shoulders through the window, planting a hot kiss on my lips. I laughed and lifted a finger, pushing it between out mouths.

"Why don't you come in?" I suggested, pulling back and standing aside.

He chuckled hoarsely. "No way am I fitting through that window, sweetheart. I'll come in the front door." He touched his long, calloused fingers to my face. "Wait for me."

I didn't have time to wonder how on earth he was going to get through a locked door when he was there, tapping quietly at the door of my room. I went over and opened it, then squealed as I was engulfed in a pair of hot arms. He lifted me up, kicked the door shut with one foot behind him, and carried me over to the bed. I knew there was something I should be protesting about - the bed? - but I couldn't find the words as his lips pressed to mine. His fingers, clutching me tightly, crept around to my knee, walked up my thigh, slid underneath my shorts to caress the skin there. I wrapped my legs around his waist, pressing closer.

His tongue teased my mouth apart and I moaned into the wet heat of his mouth. I wrapped my arms around his neck and pulled him down to the bed with me. He rolled to the side, bracing himself with his long arms so his body was pressed along mine without any of his weight coming down on me. He sighed into my lips and deepened the kiss briefly before pulling back. I gave a protesting moan, but just then I felt his heated lips pressing to the hollow of my throat. I gasped and arched my back, throwing my head back. His fingers trailed down, between my breasts, down to my stomach and paused near my belly button. His open mouth trailed kisses down, following the path his fingers had traced.

I could feel my stomach moving against his fingers and lips in quick, trembling breaths - the grey mists in my vision began to darken. I needed to breath - but I didn't want to. I combed my fingers through Jacob's black hair, then back around to his neck. I began kneading the muscles there, then stopped breathing as his mouth and fingers began making their way back up towards my throat - slower this time, meandering across my whole body. When he had reached my throat again, I reached down to his chest. He froze, stopped breathing, and when he began again it was in double time. I could feel his heart thumping quickly against my palm, and leaned down to press my head to his chest. The deep, unsteady thumping against my cheek brought me back to reality with a jolt and I pulled away from his questing fingers, wandering mouth, gasping.

"Jacob, no - stop. We have to stop!" I panted, trying to pull away from his hot, iron grip.

It took a moment for that to sink in, then he gave a long, low growl and rolled away from me. We both lay there for a very long time. I was trying to calm myself, but it wasn't working. Just the memory of his assault kept me panting, my blood still rushing through my veins. Finally he reached over and placed one enormous hand on my chest, feeling the rapid rise and fall, the accelerated beat. A grin emanated from his direction and he pulled himself a little closer.

"Are you all right, Heather?" From the smug smile in his voice, he knew perfectly well what was wrong with me.

"I'm… fine… Jacob." My voice was still coming in spurts, breathless from my hyperventilation.

He scooted to a sitting position and pulled me onto his lap, wrapping his strong, comforting arms around me. He rubbed my arms slowly, rocking me back and forth. He was genuinely worried, now, no longer cocky. "Really, Heather - are you okay?"

The slow, steady rocking was calming me, finally. I took another deep, shuddering breath, and buried my head in his shoulder. "I'm fine," I repeated firmly. This time it was true. I shook my head and pressed my lips briefly to his shoulder. "What were you thinking, anyway? Coming into my room this late, all alone."

"I was kind of hoping maybe you'd changed your mind," said Jacob, grinning. "Will you marry me? Then we won't have to stop - we won't ever have to stop."

I took another deep breath, and the scent of his warm body was not helping my rational train of thought. There was a long silence, and in the darkness I could hear his breathing quicken in hope. Hurriedly I patted his shoulder. "No, Jacob. How can you even ask that, after your little spat with Drew at the dinner table?"

"I figured we could run away somewhere," said Jacob with another smile. "Somewhere with only you and me and your animals. Then it wouldn't matter what anybody else thought."

"What business sense does that make?" I protested, snuggling deeper into his embrace. "My customers complained enough when I moved up here."

"Hey, I'm just dreaming here," he said with a laugh. He touched my nose with his finger and sighed. "No imagination, that's your problem."

I scowled. "No, it's just that if I let my imagination run wild, you never know what I might end up doing. Right now if my imagination was free, it would be something along the lines of…" I dropped my voice to a throaty whisper. "Seduction plans."

He shivered and swallowed heavily. I leaned back, laughing. "See? I have an imagination."

He growled and gripped me tighter. "That's enough, Heather. I'm stronger than you, and I know you can't resist me." He lay back on the bed and pulled me onto his chest, playing with a lock of my hair. "So are you going to come meet Alice at Starbucks tomorrow?"

"Wouldn't miss it for the world," I said cheerfully. "A real live fortune-teller? I can hardly wait."

"Don't call her a fortune-teller to her face," said Jacob with a grin. "She might bite."


	8. Chapter 8

JACOB

I stared out the window, toying with the coffee-cup in my hand. It was almost nine - neither Heather, Drew or Alice had arrived yet. I scowled and scooted down lower in the tiny wire chair. I hated Starbucks chairs with a passion. They always felt like they were going to break if I let all my weight come down on then.

Aha. Underneath one of the posters plastered over the outside of the window, I saw a pair of dirty bare feet skipping down the sidewalk. The door swung open and Alice breezed in with a tinkle of bells and a wink for the college student behind the counter. She didn't order anything, but kept skipping directly over to me. She planted herself lightly in the chair directly across from me and grinned. Her teeth flashed unnaturally white and I shuddered. It wasn't fair that vampires could have such pretty smiles and still eat people.

"Morning," I said briefly, giving her a nod.

"Very astute, Jacob," she said, her grin growing in breadth. "It is indeed morning."

I sighed and shifted, wincing as the chair bowed under my weight again. Stupid bloodsucker was perched on top of hers like she weighed no more than a feather. As I glanced at her again, my eyes popped open in shock. Alice - dainty, rich, fashion police Alice - was wearing dusty old overalls, bare feet, smudges on her pale skin, uncombed hair… "What happened to you?" I asked, incredulous.

"Too long in the woods by myself," she said with a shrug. "Devoting my soul to God and all that."

"Oh. Yes of course." I frowned at my own stupidity. I watched as her eyes unfocused, glazed over. Her pale brow wrinkled and she stared intently over my shoulder. I waited patiently for twenty-six seconds, then her eyes re-focused and she grimaced.

"Any new developments?" I asked.

"Everything remains much the same," she said soberly. "Drew still hasn't made any drastic decisions." She looked up quickly towards the door. "They're coming."

Sure enough, half a minute later Drew appeared at the door, clutching Heather's hand. I caught my breath, staring at Heather - every time I saw her she got more beautiful. She was laughing at something her brother had said, her auburn braid swinging over her shoulder, deep green blouse cut low enough on her creamy neck to reveal her collarbone curling away from the shadows of her throat. I remembered touching that incredibly soft, white skin with my lips, with my fingertips - I swallowed heavily.

Alice was watching me with a little smirk on her face. "Your Heather is very beautiful," she said under her breath, correctly guessing the source of my discomfiture. "Keep your hands to yourself during this meeting, though. Drew's going to be touchy this morning. He doesn't like you much."

"Thanks - I didn't know that," I tossed back sarcastically.

Drew spotted us, murmured something to Heather and drew her towards us. He glanced at Alice with suspicion struggling with awe on his features - she smiled, features assuming a patient, sweet, friendly yet lofty expression. Lord, she was talented.

"You're Drew," she said gently, her musical voice ringing gently in the chilly air. "I'm Alice." She turned her brilliant smile on Heather. "And you're Heather. It's very nice to meet you in person at last."

Heather didn't ask what that meant, just smiled back, then turned her seeking green eyes towards me. "Jacob!" Her face lit up. She shivered and rubbed her arms, and I took an unconscious step forward, wanting to warm her. Drew and Alice shot me identical warning looks and I sat back down with a sigh. Heather's light fingers danced through the air until they found the chair next to me and she sat down.

Alice smiled angelically at Drew and gestured for him to have a seat as well. "I hope you had a pleasant walk here? Good. You've come about the earthquake."

Drew looked a little lost, and I grinned. "It takes a little while to get used to Alice, Drew. Don't worry about it."

"Well, I'd like to thank you for meeting with me," said Drew earnestly. "I'm very sorry, but I'm going to need a little proof before I can accept what I've been told about this whole earthquake issue."

"I understand," said Alice with a serene smile. "What sort of a test were you thinking?"

"Well, I have a phrase in my head that I'm going to speak out loud in a minute," said Drew slowly. "Tell me what it is."

Alice frowned, eyes glazing slightly. Then her vision cleared and she smiled. "Well, originally you were going to tell us a fun fact about a north-eastern hippopotamus named Nancy, but now you're going to gasp and start to say 'Oh my God,' then correct yourself and say 'Oh my gosh' instead."

Long silence.

"Oh my… gosh." Drew's voice was hushed, breathless, eyes saucer-wide. "Is this a trick?"

"Most assuredly not," said Alice, saintly smile still firmly in place. "I can also assure you than in approximately thirty-seven seconds, a teenager is coming down the street on a skateboard, and is intent on breaking one of the windows."

"Why?" I asked, angling myself subtly so I was in front of Heather.

"Rebellious teen," Alice said with a shrug. "Here he comes."

Sure enough, a gangly boy with multiple facial piercing and a bazillion studs in his ears was going past on a skateboard, holding up his pants with one hand and clutching a rock in the other. He raised one hand to lob the rock and I drew in my breath - he was looking right at Heather, drawing back his arm.

Alice sat up, eyes widening, hand stretched to stop me, but it was too late. I couldn't stop myself - my protective instincts were completely out of control. I flashed to the door and out with inhuman speed, intent on breaking the foolish boy's arm off.

"Holy sh- ow!" The boy's face twisted in pain as I gripped the fist holding the rock and twisted his arm behind his back. Nerveless fingers dropped the rock to the ground and I bore down harder on the frail bone of his arm. His face was white with fear and pain.

"Jacob?" Heather's soft voice stopped me in my tracks. I looked through the window - Drew's shocked features, Alice rolling her eyes in despair and annoyance, Heather looking mystified and feeling around my empty seat.

With a long sigh I released the boy's arm. He stared at me for a second, then ran off, not bothering to grab his skateboard. I was still shaking with nervous energy, and a tiny flash of heat passed along my spine. Then - the boy's pants fell down. He didn't even stop to pull them up, just kept waddling down the street as fast as he could shuffle, skull-and-crossbones boxers exposed for the world to see. I snorted in laughter and released my anger - such stupidity wasn't even worth phasing over. I walked back inside and groaned when I saw Drew's wide eyes.

"What was that? How did you move that fast? I've never seen anybody do that before." He was starting to hyperventilate a little - I saw where Heather got her tendency to over-react.

I sat down and casually patted Heather's searching hand. "Sorry, it was… uh… an adrenaline rush. It's pretty common - you can Google it."

A delicate snort of tinkling laughter came from Alice's direction and I looked over, surprised. I'd thought it was a pretty good excuse, myself. She was biting her pale lips, golden eyes sparkling with overflowing mirth. An inside joke, I suppose.

"What - you don't believe in adrenaline rushes?" I asked, irritated.

"No, it's just that Edward - never mind. Tell you later." Another giggle escaped, then she pulled herself back together into the saintly character she'd constructed. "So where were we before we were so rudely interrupted?"

"I was just going into shock," said Drew wryly. "You really have been blessed with a gift, Alice."

"Sometimes I think it's almost a curse," said Alice with a long-suffering sigh. This time it was I who could hardly hold back my howl of laughter. Alice loved being psychic. She, typical vampire, thrived on superiority.

Alice shot me a glare, then turned her sweet smile on Drew. "The full force of the earthquake, if nothing changes between now and then, should hit in exactly nineteen days. All of Forks should evacuate, though some of the houses will be salvageable. La Push will, of course, be perfectly safe."

She meant the werewolves of La Push, not the houses. She knew the Pack would be fine, and that we would stay - we belonged here. We'd help people rebuild their homes, we'd save all the stray animals and people left behind, and as many belongings as we could. We were the territory's protectors, and we couldn't desert it as easily as the bloodsuckers could.

"That's all I can give you," said Alice to Drew gently. "My parting gift to you is this: your plan will be successful."

"Any chance you could tell me what that plan is?" asked Drew hopefully.

Alice laughed. "Sorry, I can't tell you that until you decide on it yourself. All I know is that it'll work."

"Well, thanks," said Drew. He rose with Alice and shook her hand, shuddering at her icy touch. "Keep me in your prayers."

"Of course." Alice turned her face to the side carefully and winked at me, then shuffled out, staring absently into empty air.

Drew turned towards me and raised one eyebrow. "Well. That was… wow."

"Is that good?" Heather asked eagerly. "Do you believe her?"

"I don't know if I have a choice about that," said Drew with a little chuckle. "She was very forceful. Different than I expected, but unquestionably she could predict the future."

"Oh, good! You'll help then." Heather was excited and sure of herself.

"I don't know if I have a choice about that, either," Drew replied with a sigh. "I'm not sure how, though."

"You have a doctorate," said Heather impatiently. "I'm sure you'll think of something." She turned to me and slipped her arm through mine, sighing as my warmth engulfed her. I pulled her closer and wrapped one arm over her shoulders, frowning at her chilled skin.

"You want to come out to La Push today?" I asked eagerly.

"Drew?" she asked uncertainly.

"Go ahead," he said with a resigned sigh. "I have to unpack and do some paperwork anyway. And now I have to start thinking about evacuating Forks in nineteen days without any official proof."

I was already heading out the door, pulling Heather with me. "Quileutes will help in any way we can," I tossed over my shoulder. With a parting wave I started down the sidewalk at a light jog. As soon as we were out of sight of Starbucks I pulled her up into my arms and started sprinting. We reached my bike a moment later and I grinned.

"I really wish you could see this, sweetheart," I said, stroking the smooth leather seat fondly. "Just know that it's big and black and looks really, really badass."

"Not the Rabbit today?" she guessed with a small, frightened smile.

"Right the first time." I lifted her onto the back of the bike and settled in front of her. Her small hands folded around me in a death grip. "We won't go very fast on your first time," I reassured her.

Her relieved sigh turned to a squeal of terror as we shot down the street at eighty miles an hour. Apparently we didn't share the same ideas of what real speed was.

Chapter Eleven

HEATHER

As each day passed I my certainty of Jacob's love and my uncertainty as to the fate of Forks grew in proportion to each other. Each night I went to bed with a muttered prayer - kisses from Jacob helped alleviate my worries, of course, but he couldn't stay all night long, and as soon as he left the nightmares would come. Each morning I woke and asked Drew if he'd had any ideas. Sometimes he did - then Jacob would drop by and list all the reasons why it would never work. More often, Drew didn't have any ideas at all. Each afternoon Jacob would, without fail, take me to some romantic place and propose. Sometimes, when we were at La Push, he'd take me to our cove and hold my hand, kneeling in the salty breeze. Sometimes he'd buy me ice cream, and just as I'd taken a bite he'd ask - then say something about "silence being consent," and force me to answer with my mouth full. Sometimes he'd propose when he cuddled me on top of the covers of my bed, kissing the back of my neck softly - those were the hardest to refuse.

More than fifteen days had passed, and everyone who knew about the earthquake was starting to panic. Jacob was in and out of his wolf form constantly, brainstorming with the rest of the Pack. They'd already gotten some of the people out of Forks and La Push on different errands… encouraging them to visit relatives, take long-deserved vacations or go on business trips. Still, the majority of Forks was still in danger. Drew and I both developed dark circles under our eyes from the late-night planning sessions. I was sitting on the rocking chair on my front porch, brushing my hair and listening to music, Meth seated at my feat gnawing on a pork bone, when Jacob got the idea.

He was so excited when he arrived that he didn't even realize he was using his superhuman speed and strength. His bike screeched to a stop in front of the house. I'd barely had time to set down the brush when he was there beside me. He swept me up out of the chair and into an embrace so warm and stifling that I actually began to struggle against him for the first time in our dating history. And for the first time, he didn't notice.

Finally I pulled my face out far enough to gasp, "Jacob - air -"

He immediately dropped me, but I could feel flashes of heated excitement still passing through the air. He was barely keeping a grip on his human form, I could tell. Finally he turned to one of the big pillars one either side of the stairs. All I heard was a solid crunch, a shattering noise - and a few splinters now dusted my jeans.

"Um… Jacob? What did you… do?" My voice was hushed, breathless - I could feel the color drain from my cheeks.

He was instantly at my side, brushing the splinters off with his big, still-clenched fist, remorseful. "I'm sorry, I was just so - excited."

"Did you just punch through our pillar?" I asked, sounding a lot more confident and accusing than I felt.

"Well… when you say it like that it doesn't really… I sort of… well, yes."

I sat back slowly and sighed, rubbing my forehead with one hand. "Okay. All right, Jacob. Note to self - when we get a house, keep punch-able items in the garage, not the front porch." I stopped and glared in the direction of his warm, hovering face. "Where everyone. Can. See."

"We're getting a house?" he asked, sounding like a kid on Christmas.

"No, not - Jacob!" I protested. He had picked up on the wrong part of my statement.

"Look, I'd take you out to get flowers and ice cream, or to the beach, or give you roses, or write you a poem or something," said Jacob desperately. "I swear I would - but there's no time."

It wasn't like him to be insensitive. I stiffened. "You've got an idea? Take me inside, we have to talk about it!" He scooped me up and we started inside. I patted his shoulder reproachfully. "Why didn't you tell me right away?"

He laughed. "I was a little over-excited, and then you were bawling me out." He looked up and sighed. "Here comes Drew, wondering if I'm mauling you."

"With good reason," I huffed as he let me slide to the floor. Drew was in the doorway, so Jacob swiveled me around to face the door and bent quickly.

"Will you marry me?" he breathed into my ear.

I leveled a flat gaze at him. "What do you think, Jacob _darling_?" I drew out the word 'darling' so he could have no doubt of the level of sarcasm in my reply.

He grinned and patted my head paternally, turning me back around to face Drew. "I never try to guess what you think anymore, sweetheart. That's why I always ask."

"Jacob? What are you doing here so early in the morning?" Drew asked, a heavy frown in his voice.

"Oh, yes." Jacob straightened, keeping one hand on my back, and steered me towards the kitchen. "Come sit down - I've just had the most wonderful idea. The Pack all think it's great. All we need is somebody good with computers and radio equipment."

Drew followed us and drew out a chair. We all sat down and Jacob shifted beside me, his excitement rising again. I narrowed my gaze and squeezed his hand, clenched into a fist on the table, in warning.

"I really like my refrigerator, Jacob," I hissed, "so come off your high horse, big boy. Relax, and don't punch anything, or else…"

Drew cleared his throat and I stopped, scowling when Jacob patted my head again. "Don't interrupt me any more, if you want the people of Forks alive, sweetheart," he said in a patronizing tone.

I clamped my teeth down hard on my lip and folded my hands tightly together. "I apologize," I said stiffly.

Jacob chuckled, then turned to Drew. "Sorry - lover's spat and all that. Anyway, we know you can't issue any warnings on a major scale, but maybe we could alter the local news tapes. I don't know that much about radio, but I know that when they read off the news in the morning they're getting it from somewhere. We'd need to intercept the regular local news and replace it with earthquake warnings."

Drew was quiet for a minute. "Yes… yes, it might work. I could definitely do that - it'll be relatively simple equipment…" He stopped and I felt the heat of his glare. "But do you realize how much trouble I'd be in if anybody found out? My position at the university is already precarious."

"Just tell us how to do it, professor," said Jacob with a broad grin. "The Pac - I mean, my family - isn't afraid of anything the law has to threaten with."

"So it would seem." Drew sighed and settled back further in his chair. "Just how fast were you going on the way here, Jacob?"

"Um - that's really not relevant," Jacob hedged. "I didn't get pulled over, did I?"

"Heather, you shouldn't date daredevils," said Drew, ignoring Jacob.

I couldn't quite clamp down the snort of laughter that escaped my lips. Jacob getting hurt in a motorcycle accident? That'd be like God getting hurt in a thunderstorm. "I'm not worried," I said quickly to Drew. I turned to Jacob. "Do you really think it's simple enough for a bunch of uneducated guys to do?"

"I'll have you know that some of us are secretly very intelligent," said Jacob with a grin. "We just hide it well."

"It shouldn't be too difficult," Drew assured me. "Who'll I be coaching?"

"Me." Jacob's voice was suddenly firm and serious. He'd brook no argument, that was obvious. "I took some computer classes at college, and I'm somewhat familiar with the radio studio."

"You'd risk everything for the people of Forks?" Drew sounded dubious. "Somehow I didn't peg you as the martyr type."

"We learn something new," said Jacob through his teeth, "every day. I only have one condition."

"What? A condition," Drew spat out. "I'm the one who might get fired if I'm discovered. I'm the one who should get conditions."

"I want you and Heather to be out of Forks by this time tomorrow," Jacob continued unperturbed.

"Jacob!" I started up in my chair. "I have to stay with you, I can't leave you." My voice escalated in panic, getting higher and higher. "I want to help! We can't be apart - what if you're not safe? You - I - we…" I trailed off, clutched at his hand, and wailed, "_Jacob!" _

"Okay, that's reasonable," said Drew.

Jacob drew me into his lap and kissed me lightly on the forehead. "Really, Heather, it'll be fine. My family is staying to help out anybody who couldn't leave, try to rescue as many houses as we can. There's no danger for us."

I sighed, gathering myself together. A few deep breaths later, I relaxed. "Okay. Okay, I'll admit that if anybody could survive an earthquake it would be you," I conceded. "But I don't know - how long until I can come back?"

"The day after tomorrow the earthquake strikes," said Jacob, frowning. "You can come back one week from today."

"A whole week?" I sounded ridiculously whiny and pathetic, and I could feel Drew's disapproval radiating at me.

"Heather, you need to be safe. I'll come visit you if I can, but that's how long you're staying away." Jacob was using his firm, 'no arguments' voice again. He leaned down and twisted a lock of my hair around one long finger. "I don't know how I'll be able to stand it," he whispered, hot breath warming my ear. "But we have to. We just need to deal with it. Be strong."

I drew in another deep breath. "Right. Okay. Tonight, then."

JACOB

I couldn't believe I was actually feeling physical pain at the prospect of letting Heather out of my sight. I sat slumped in the seat of my bike, glad that I had actually chosen to put on a black leather jacket tonight. I blended with the shadows and darkness in front of Heather's house, and I had a little time to pull myself together before they noticed I was there. My stomach was clenching, my teeth were aching from gritting them so hard, my head was pounding - and worst of all, it felt like a piece of glass had insinuated its way into my heart and was twisting steadily, a sharp pain that refused to diminish.

And this was just in anticipation.

I couldn't even imagine how acute this pain would become once she was actually out of sight, once I was imagining what horrors she could be getting into without me. If this was what Hell was like, I was a reformed man.

I sighed and swung one leg over my bike, strode up the sidewalk and rapped smartly on the door. It swung open almost immediately and Heather stood there, clad in a black turtleneck sweater that clung to her ever curve, and a pair of jeans molded to her legs like they'd been painted on. A pair of black leather boots were pulled up to her calf, and her hair was gathered up in a loose, curly mass. She looked sophisticated and… sexy. I swallowed heavily and tried to smile, knowing that somehow she could sense my facial expressions. It didn't work.

"Jacob?" Her voice was hoarse with the tears that refused to emerge from her useless eyes.

"Miss me?" I asked, a sorry attempt to be jovial.

"Yes, I do. Already." Heather's voice broke and she threw herself into my arms, heedless of her spotless appearance.

I swept her up in my arms and kissed her hair, soothing her as her shoulders shook with dry sobs. "You're going to ruin your pretty… your pretty hair." I cleared my throat as my voice broke, too. I'd never cried before, and I wasn't going to start now, I resolved firmly.

"I don't damn well _care_ about my hair," said Heather vehemently. She pulled back reluctantly, lips trembling, and lifted one hand to my face. I held still as she traced my features lovingly, then caught her hand and kissed the palm.

"You look really nice," I said softly into her soft, scented skin. "You smell nice too."

"It was Drew's idea," she said, only snuffling slightly. "We're going to Seattle and he wanted me to put on my 'city' clothes."

I pulled her back into my arms, bending to whisper - "I like your bike shorts better." Although I wasn't feeling at all inclined to laugh, I had to lift Heather's mood before I left. It worked. She swatted my shoulder, lips twitching in a slight smile.

"You would, pervert," she hissed back through her teeth.

I leaned down and pressed my lips to hers, not letting the kiss deepen too much - knowing that if I stayed too long it would be just that much harder to let her go. Besides, Drew was coming in just then. I pulled back, kissed her dewy lips once more, then turned her forward and pulled her against me, looping my hands over her shoulders and clasping them on her stomach.

"Well, Jacob." Drew sounded tired - and no wonder. I was still recovering from the vicious headache I'd gotten from trying to wrap my brain around all those instructions for tampering with the radio station computers.

"Drew," I said, nodding. He came forward and handed me a plan white card.

"Heather's cell phone, my cell phone," said Drew, gesturing to the card. "If you have any problems, don't hesitate to call. We'll keep both of them up and running and close at hand at all times."

"Thanks, Drew," I said, tucking the card away in my shorts pocket. Hopefully I'd remember about it before I phased next. I knew Heather's number by heart, anyway, so it shouldn't be a problem. "You've done this town a great service."

"I know." Drew sighed and came up closer, poking at Heather's shoulder. "It's all her fault, you know. She wanted to move someplace quiet and secluded, and she just had to choose the place that was going to get torn apart by an earthquake."

"The luck of the damned," said Heather, rolling her eyes. "Only one good thing has happened to me in the past five years, and it happened last week." She gave me a soft, secretive smile, and my heart leapt. I could never get over the miracle of her deep love for me. I didn't deserve her, of course - but then, what man ever deserves the woman he loves? They are apparently the superior sex all around.

"We'd best be off," said Drew firmly. He pulled Heather away from my embrace, though she struggled briefly against him. He stuck his arm through hers and drew her towards the door. "Could you grab her suitcase, Jacob?"

I reached down at swept up her large, dark purple suitcase, following the siblings out the door and down the dark sidewalk. They reached the silver Subaru Outback in the driveway and Drew went around the back to put the suitcases in. Heather stood by the front door of the car, a lost expression stealing over her darkening features. I couldn't bear it - I couldn't see her so unhappy. I strode forward and leaned over her, bracing one hand on either side of her head and leaning in. When I spoke, my breath whispered against her face and she leaned her head back, looking a little drugged.

"Heather…" I reached over with my thumb and stroked her cheekbone. "Heather, don't be sorry. I'll call you every day - every hour. It won't seem but a minute and we'll be together again."

"It will seem a lot longer than that," she protested languidly. "It already… seems… long…" She leaned her cheek into my palm and sighed. "I shall be so cold when you're gone, Jacob," she said sadly.

"No you won't!" I exclaimed. "I'll… I'll send you heat waves or - or something," I added desperately.

She laughed and put her hand against mine on her cheek. "I love you, Jacob," she said softly, but just as desperately. "I have something for you."

"I love you too, and what is it?" I asked, surprised.

"Is it really pathetic that I need to give you a parting gift when I'm only going to be gone for a week?" asked Heather with a sigh.

"Not at all pathetic," I said firmly. "Besides," I added with a grin, "I'm on the receiving end. I'm not complaining."

She pressed something small into my palm. Drew was revving the engine, so she turned and pulled open the door. She turned back and touched my face once more, then hopped in. I clutched her present to me and waved until I couldn't see their headlights any more - then I waved for five more minutes just to make sure. Finally I sank down to the sidewalk and looked at the gift. It was a small framed picture of herself, smiling brightly into the camera. With the picture was a note - in Drew's masculine, blocky handwriting.

"Dearest Jacob," I read aloud. "I love you more than anything, and I get the distinct impression that you feel the same about me. I hope you like this picture - it was a while ago, but Drew assures me that it still very much looks like me. I wouldn't know. Anyway, (and I know I say this a lot, but… it's true) I love you. Call me soon! I'll see you in a week. Your human girl, Heather."

I grinned through my blurry vision - damn wind, made my eyes water - and wondered what Drew had thought about that ending. Human? What else would she be. I laughed and leapt to my feet, suddenly resolved. The Pack would take care of Forks - if only so it would be here when Heather returned.


	9. Chapter 9

JACOB

I fiddled with the lock on the door of the radio station briefly, letting it swing open quietly. I stepped through and looked around. There were two studios in the tiny station - one was dark, and one was still lit, with quiet music coming from underneath the door. The all-night station was still at work, even at one o'clock in the morning. The sign on the door of the dark studio said "News." I went to that door using my inborn stealth and crept in. The room looked just as Drew had expected it to, with the computer in the left corner. A smaller monitor rested in front of the microphone and headset. I went to the computer and flicked it on. Out of the leather jacket pocket I pulled a flash drive and inserted into the USB port. Following Drew's written instructions, I took the necessary information on the feed line from the larger news network and local news projection.

It took a long time to load all the information, and twice the person tending the other station went out to go to the bathroom. Both times I slipped underneath the desk, prepared to phase if I needed to. People were always more willing to shrug off a wolf sighting than a very large man in a black jacket. Both times, though, the person didn't even check in my studio. When the information was finally all loaded on the flash drive, I pulled it out, flicked the computer back off and slipped out of the building. Sucking in a deep breath, I crept over to my bike and gunned it quietly. The easy part was over.

I headed toward La Push at a speed that would have had Heather screaming. I gulped and touched the picture in my pocket. This was for her, I promised myself. I reached Billy's house in record time and threw my bike into the sandy driveway. I dashed up the steps and into the house. I wasn't surprised to see a multitude of the Pack, in both human and wolf form, lying around the house, lounging on the couches and eating all the food.

Sam came up to me immediately, one arm wrapped around Emily. She was smiling up at him angelically and I groaned.

"Can you guys not, you know - do that - in front of me?" I asked, pained.

"What?" asked Sam, surprised, as he leaned down to kiss Emily.

"That!" I exclaimed with a huff. "Be so… in love. It's not fair."

"I take it this means Heather got off safely," Sam guessed, raising one eyebrow.

I sighed. "Yeah. Sorry, Emily, I didn't mean..."

"That's okay," she said peacefully. She could afford to be peaceful - she had her damned imprint with her, right next to her, kissing her, holding her. I knew that Sam would send Emily off by this time tomorrow, but still, at the moment it seemed like the most cruel injustice.

"Jake? Hello…" Sam was waving one enormous hand in front of my face. I blinked.

"What?"

"I asked if you got what you needed," said Sam, amused. "From the radio station?"

"Oh! Yeah." I pulled out the flash drive. "Hopefully nobody sat on the computer."

"I think it's still whole," said Sam with a grin. "I made Paul and Embry fight outside, so nothing got too torn up.

"What a relief," I said sarcastically, then headed to the kitchen. The computer was set up on the table - the table was overloaded with members of the Pack. I gave them a little growl and they scattered. I sank down in the chair in front of the computer and inserted the flash drive. I had to install everything on my computer so I could tell exactly when to insert the new information into the database and send it to the radio station's second monitor. It was all in the timing, and it would be tricky - but could manage. I had to manage. I would manage.

HEATHER

I sat up straight in my bed, completely disoriented. The bed was too soft, too high, too silky, too - cold. I shivered and grabbed for my robe, slung across the chair by my bed. I slung it over my shoulders and rubbed at my eyes, trying to remember where I was. Oh, yes. Drew had dragged me, completely against my will, to Caleb's house. Correction: Caleb and his _wife_. I had no idea why Drew thought this would be a good idea. Even a pay-by-the-hour hotel would have been better than this. I didn't know for sure because Caleb's wife is an exceedingly polite woman, but I got the distinct feeling that I had taken over their bedroom.

"Meth?" I called, and smiled as I heard her familiar pant and her warm tongue wrapped around my fingers. "You're going to have to keep me company when Jacob's not here," I muttered into her fur. "Fetch a shirt."

Meth helped me get dressed and I slipped my cell phone - set to the highest volume - in my pocket. I splashed my face with water and finger-combed my tangled hair, then straightened my shoulders. I shook all signs of anguish from my features and took a deep breath, trying to clear my mind. What would Jacob do, I asked myself, if he found himself in the house of the man who you had thought you loved, who had then turned out to be a complete asshole? And his wife, nonetheless? Okay, so I probably couldn't physically do what Jacob would do - something to do with punching through walls, most likely. However, I was armed with something now that I hadn't had before… a new completely incredible love, and the knowledge that I was now totally over Caleb.

"I can do this," I said, resolute. I hadn't seen Caleb last night, because we'd arrived so late, but I was prepared now. I grabbed my cane and tapped forward to the door, Meth running circles around me, checking industriously for any obstructions. Slowly we made our way down the carpeted hallway and into the living room.

"Oh! Good morning, Heather!" Caleb's wife - Rosemary - with her bright voice. I swear, everything she said ended in an exclamation mark. "How did you sleep? Well, I hope!"

"Very well, thank you," I said politely. "Where's Drew?"

"He's in the kitchen eating breakfast! He's an early riser!"

"Where's… er… Caleb?" I asked carefully. Rosemary didn't know about our previous romance, but she did know that things were a little spiky between us.

"Oh! He's in Spokane for the week! Didn't I tell you last night? Well, I probably did, but you were so tired! Maybe you don't remember!"

"Maybe," I agreed tiredly. Here I'd been all prepared to face up with my past, and now he wasn't even here. Oh, well - putting it off wouldn't hurt. Besides, if I saw him he'd probably just ask me to train his dog again.

"Just go on in to the kitchen!" Rosemary continued enthusiastically. "Drew will help you get breakfast!"

"Thanks," I continued with my one-word replies. I made my way into the kitchen and sank down, poking roughly in Drew's direction. "Drew, my dear brother, we are leaving this house now." I paused as he pushed a plate in front of me. I felt around to locate the eggs and toast. "The only reason you got me in here in the first place was because I was tired and delusional."

"Oh, no worries," said Drew cheerfully. He was a completely infuriating morning person. "I've already made reservations at a hotel."

I narrowed my eyes suspiciously. "Aren't you the one who was all wild to stay here in the first place?"

I could feel his heat as he leaned in closer to me and whispered fiercely, "Yes, but I forgot how much I cannot stand that woman."

I laughed delightedly, then stifled it with my hand as Rosemary's footsteps sounded in the doorway. "Hi," I said briefly before shoveling a bite of eggs into my mouth.

"Oh, hello again! But then, we just said hello, didn't we? Oh, well! I was just wondering how long you guys were staying! I'm having a dinner party tomorrow, and -"

Drew cut her off. "No worries," he said again. "We're not imposing on your hospitality any more."

Rosemary drew in her breath to begin speaking again, but just then my cell phone jangled with a loud Simon and Garfunkel song - Jacob's ring. I grinned widely and held up my finger. "Hold that thought, Rosemary." I stepped out of the kitchen and flipped open the phone. "Jacob!" I couldn't believe the difference in my voice as I greeted him. I sounded twenty years younger.

"Heather." His low, tender rumble sent chills through me, even over the phone. "How are you this morning?"

"More importantly, how are you?" I asked eagerly. "Did… um… everything go okay?" I glanced towards Rosemary, who was listening to me with barely disguised curiosity.

"Is somebody there?" Jacob asked, understanding in his voice.

"Yes."

"Well, everything went fine. I was able to get everything just right with the timing - surprising, but Drew laid out the plans so well, I could hardly get it wrong. Forks has gone crazy," he said with a chuckle.

"So it worked? It worked." I couldn't keep the smile off my face. I glanced nervously at Rosemary again and moved away slightly.

"There were a few small tremors early this morning," said Jacob. I could hear a wide grin in his voice. "Sam had to send Emily off sooner than he'd thought."

"You sound happy," I pointed out with a frown.

"It just wasn't fair that you and I had to be apart and he could be there snuggling up with his imprint," said Jacob impatiently. "Anyway, the tremors really helped cement everything. People were listening for news about the tremors and got the evacuation order. Everything will be perfectly fine."

"Good." I sighed and we sat in silence for a moment, just listening to each other breathe.

He laughed a deep, throaty chuckle. "Commercial break is almost over - I have to get back to work. I love you, Heather. Keep safe."

"You too," I said quickly. "You're the one who'll be in the earthq…" I looked at Rosemary. "You're the one who'll be experiencing some trouble."

"True," said Jacob with another grin. "I'll call you soon."

"I love you!" I managed to squeeze in before he hung up. I flipped the phone closed and stuck it back in my pocket, then moved back to the kitchen. I passed Rosemary without a word, though I could tell she was dying of curiosity. "Jacob says everything went according to plan," I said to Drew with a wink.

"Oh? Excellent." Drew sounded satisfied. "Finish your breakfast, Heather dear. We must get going."

JACOB

Okay, so I lied a little bit. Things weren't… quite so perfect as I made them sound.

Chapter Thirteen

JACOB

Wow. It was a lot harder to lie to my imprint than I'd thought it would be. She sounded so happy - I almost blurted out the truth right then. I sat back against the cell wall and flipped my phone shut.

"Jacob Black." A quiet, disapproving voice came from the barred door. I looked up to see Charlie - one of the two Forks police force. He stuck his hand through the bars and gestured. I stared at it for a moment, then heaved a sigh and tossed my phone to him.

"Hey, Charlie," I said tiredly. "How's your daughter? Bella, right?"

"Frightened out of her wits," said Charlie flatly. "What's wrong with you? If this is your idea of a practical joke, young man, let me just say that I am not amused." He sat down on the bench outside my cell and crossed his legs in front of him, shaking his head in admiration. "I must admit to a little reluctant appreciation, though. I can't believe you single-handedly evacuated Forks."

"How did you find out?" I asked desperately. "I was very careful…"

"The radio speaker was a little suspicious, because the formatting on the monitor was different than usual," said Charlie softly. "She called her associate in the Seattle news feed and discovered that the two messages were totally different. By then it was too late."

I felt a wave of relief sweep through me - too late meant everyone was safe. "So everybody got out?"

"Yes, Forks is now empty, thanks to you." Charlie looked at me through narrowed eyes. "I still can't figure out why you did it. You've always had a slight problem with speeding, but nothing else. Hell, Jacob, you weren't even a rebellious teenager."

I shrugged. "It's really complicated, Charlie. So… you and I are the only ones left in the whole area?"

"Pretty much," said Charlie with a frown. "Your whole family is still at La Push, though. Were they all in this together? Should I have all of them in this cell keeping you company?"

"Nope. No, this one was all me," I lied smoothly. "Really, Charlie - trust me. I have resources you wouldn't believe, and they really did predict an earthquake. It would be much safer if you were out of Forks by tonight. The tremors are already beginning to strike."

He paled slightly - the slight tremors had made him sick. Something about the inner ear balance or something, but he was sensitive to them. It was now late morning, and no more tremors had struck.

"You're wrong," he said sharply. "The earthquake was predicted to hit Seattle, not Forks." He paused and glared at me. "What are these resources, anyway?"

"You don't want to know," I assured him. I sighed and sat back. "Okay, Charlie - what if Billy told you I was right? Would you believe him?"

"I hadn't thought of that." Charlie's brow wrinkled, then he slowly nodded. "I've known Billy forever, and I know he wouldn't do any of this foolishness."

"Just give him a call," I said encouragingly.

"After I let all the citizens know that they can come back, and they were given a scare for nothing," said Charlie firmly.

"No!" Before I could stop myself I flew to the bars and clutched at them, suddenly desperate. "It's much better for them if they stay away. If you refuse to leave I might be able to protect you, but my family and I could never take care of the whole population."

Charlie blinked. "I don't presume to understand that last statement," he said. "I'm calling Billy right now. You'd better hope this isn't a bunch of foolery."

"No, zero foolery, I swear."

I watched eagerly as he used my cell phone to call the house.

"Ah, good morning, Billy. I suppose you heard that ridiculous radio announcement about evacuation?" Charlie started in a jovial tone. Then his smile dropped from his face as he listened. I leaned in closer, trying to hear Billy's voice. "What?" Charlie's jaw dropped open and he glanced at me nervously. "But I thought… I see. Well, okay… I'm not sure what this… I see. Thanks, Billy. I'll - I'll keep that in mind."

He hung up. "What did he say?" I asked quickly.

"He said that it was true - what you said about the earthquake." Charlie sounded lost, mystified.

"Told you!" I crowed, leaping up and down excitedly. "So are you going to let me out? Are you going to believe me?"

"When is the earthquake… er… supposed to hit?" Charlie asked, ignoring my questions.

"Tonight, just after midnight," I said. "You should really leave."

"If this is true, why is your family staying?" he asked, suspicious again.

"It's a long story, but we're safe enough," I said impatiently.

"Well…" Charlie paused for a long moment. "What you did was still illegal. I can't just let you go free, but I can't leave you in this prison unsupervised."

"Why don't we make a deal?" I said, an idea occurring to me. "If the earthquake strikes tonight, I'll keep you safe and you set me free."

"And if there's no earthquake?"

"If there's no earthquake, you get to imprison me for life and sue my family for all they're worth," I said boldly. Please let Alice be right…

"Hmm." Charlie frowned, then shrugged. "Okay. We'll keep Forks evacuated until tomorrow, and you and I will just stay here and wait. You'd better hope you're right, for your own sake."

"Quite so." I glanced at the bars - so easily broken - and sighed, sitting back. "Can I at least have my cell phone so I can call Heather?"

"No." Charlie glared down at me.

"But she knows about the earthquake - she'll think something is wrong," I protested.

"I'll call her and let her know what's happened," said Charlie.

"No!" Not after I'd told her everything had gone so well. "No, actually, it's better she doesn't know anything. I'll just… er… watch some TV."

"You do that," said Charlie. "I'll be in my office." He stood and started down the hallway, then paused and looked back. "Oh, and Jacob? If there does turn out to be an earthquake - you'll keep me safe, right?"

"I promised," I assured him. "I always keep my promises. Sort of."

He went down and the door to his office clicked shut. I sat back on the bench again and turned on the TV, flipping idly through the channels. I could break out of here so easily, but what would be the use? At least Charlie had agreed to keep Forks empty and wait to see if I was right or not. The Pack had stayed to keep people safe, and if Charlie wouldn't leave he needed to be protected. I might as well stay. I glanced at the clock and grimaced - it was only ten-thirty. Long day ahead.

JACOB

"Jacob!" I came upright in the gloomy darkness of my cell, and almost hit my head on the ceiling.

"What?" I hissed into the darkness. Squinting, my eyes adjusted to the darkness and I could soon see just as clearly as if it were broad daylight. Charlie was standing outside my cell with a flashlight in his hand, his face pale.

"How could you sleep through this?" he asked in a whisper. "It's been shaking and quivering solidly for the past hour. It's just after midnight, now."

I heard a jangle of keys and the door swung open. I stepped out and felt it - the solid, rumbling quiver beneath our feet.

"We need to get somewhere away from the buildings and trees," I said quickly. "Where did you put my bike?"

"It's in the fire department's garage," he replied, voice cracking a little.

I turned to him and put one hand on his shoulder. "Now Charlie… a lot of strange things are going to happen tonight, and you may not be able to understand them. I'd suggest you don't try."

"Strange things?" He sounded even more nervous now.

"Yeah. Just don't ask questions, and ignore everything you see."

"O… okay."

That taken care of, I swept Charlie up under one arm and ran swiftly through the shaking building. The earthquake was coming - starting to build up power. One window shattered. Charlie groaned and wiggled in my arm, but I just held him tighter. I reached the doorway and took off at top speed, protecting Charlie's face from the wind whipping past us with one hand. We reached the fire department in a second, and I took a grip on the bottom of the garage door, and flung it up. The ground was shaking and I had to employ my werewolf dexterity to keep my footing. My bike was there, blending in with the darkness. I bit my lip, considering. I'd been planning on putting Charlie on the bike and sending him out of town - but he was obviously in no shape to be driving. He was trembling and pale, limp in my arms. I sighed and shook him lightly.

"Charlie? Are you okay?"

"Okay? Are you crazy?" His voice cracked up two octaves and I couldn't resist a grin.

"Well - all right, then. I'm taking you out to La Push. The beach is open enough - nothing will fall on you there." Before he could reply I took a tighter grip on him, slung him over one shoulder and took off.

On my good days I could run faster than the average car . When I was fueled by adrenaline and protective instinct, I could run a whole lot faster than that. Twice I almost phased in midair as I took huge, leaping strides down the main road. I kept a grip on my human form with considerable effort, the wind tearing at me and blurring my outline constantly.

It took about five minutes to reach Billy's house - it was full to overflowing with the Pack members. A bunch of the guys were lounging on the front porch, ignoring the shaking ground and falling tiles. I skidded to a stop and took the steps in one leap, then dragged Charlie inside. I fought my way through the sea of hot bodies towards Billy. He was sitting tall in his wheelchair, directing traffic.

"Jacob," he nodded as I approached. "And Charlie. Welcome. Sorry, we're a little busy right now."

"Dad, what are you doing?" I protested. "Where's Sam?"

"He's over there," said Billy absently. "There's an oil leak in a house on main street - some boys are running over there to take care of it before it starts a fire."

"Dad, you're not invincible like the rest of us," I said firmly. "You and Charlie are going to the beach right now."

"I'm needed here," said Billy with a dark scowl.

"Not anymore," I said, returning his scowl. "I'm here. Leah!" I turned and searched in the mass of tall bodies for the one with the long, dark ponytail. "Leah, come here, I need you."

She struggled through the swarm of werewolves and appeared at my side, grinning brightly. "What, Jacob? I'm having fun - Paul's gotten in two fights already."

"I need somebody to help me get Charlie and Billy to the beach," I said. "Could you stay there with them?"

She gave a long-suffering sigh and rolled her eyes. "Oh… fine."

She swept up Billy's wheelchair in one arm and followed me out the back door. We fled down the quivering beach, going for several miles. Finally the quakes seemed to be lessening. I nodded to Leah and we slowed down, letting both of the protesting men sink to the earth.

"Stay here," I told them all firmly. "You should be safe, but Leah, if you need help, I'll be in my wolf form."

"Hmph." Billy sulked, rolling forward a little in his chair.

I didn't stay to listen to their complaints. I was back off across the sand, squinting against the gritty particles flying up into my face. I let myself go, flying across the beach like greased lightning. When the heat burned in my spine, I let it consume me. I took a long leap, dove forward and flashed into wolf shape. Immediately I was assailed by greetings and orders flying back and forth between Pack members. Embry and Paul had just left Billy's house and were flying towards town, intent on putting out a small fire. Five others were patrolling the border, making sure no cars were entering the danger zone. Ten of the Pack were at the bank and various large stores, as well as the fire department, trying to save what they could as the earthquake swept the city. Alice had predicted that the major force of the shock would last up to five minutes - no telling how much damage could be done in that short of time.

_Hey, Sam. I sent a message through our line of connection._

_Jacob, good to hear from you. Sam's voice was strong and warm, but with a hint of pain - he was missing Emily._

_That's right, feel the burn, I scoffed at him. Join the suffering-imprint club. _

_Shut up, Sam snapped irritably. Go do something useful. _

_Your wish, my command, I replied cheerfully. I'm going to sweep the town for any left behind pets or… worse… people. _

_Heather had a bunch of pets with her, right? Sam asked with a frown. _

_Yeah, but she took them all with her - Drew had lots of room in the back of his car, I explained. _

_Okay, go, Sam commanded. How much longer for the quake? _

_Only two minutes for the main force, then maybe one or two major tremors throughout the night, I said. Then the worst will be over. I had reached Billy's house and now I turned towards the road, streaking along so fast the cement burned my paws. _

As I neared town I was forced to keep a sharp lookout for falling beams, light poles and pieces of houses. As I turned down the first side street, a telephone wire - red hot and writhing with fire - whipped down towards me. It formed a twisted, burning hoop directly in front of me. I gathered my strength and leapt through, hardly slowly, wincing as the wire scorched the fur on my left side. As the wire hit the ground it whipped up, and I yelped as part of it wrapped around my tail. I whimpered as it writhed through the air, pulling me back up. I fought to keep my shape, but lost control and fell to the ground in my human form. I was burning painfully in a very embarrassing place, but I just kept running. It took exactly thirty-six seconds for the burn to heal, and I was well out of reach of the fire, so I switched back into my wolf shape. I concentrated completely on my smell and sight and hearing, letting the nature of the wolf overtake me, sinking into a world of senses.

Crackling fire, far away. Shouting wolf voices in my mind. Smoke - oil - dust. Creaking structures. Falling houses, pounding bricks. Ah, there! The whine of a trapped animal - a dog, perhaps. I started forward, intent on finding the source of the noise. Hmmm - inside a trembling, shaking house. I stepped inside and flinched back as a beam fell directly in front of me. Across the room a tiny dog, a poodle or something, was cowering in the corner, trapped behind a tall dresser that had fallen.

I bounded across the room, avoiding another crashing timber. I was forced to morph back to my human form to snatch up the dog. I winced as a door was shaken loose from its hinges and fell heavily across my shoulders. I shrugged it off and looked back across the room. It was impossible to get back - objects falling and shaking and, it looked like the whole building was about to implode. I turned to the nearest wall and blew on my fist, concentrating all my energy in it. I closed my eyes and punched through, wincing as electrical wires stung my skin before my fist reached open air. I moved my arm in a wide circle through the wall, cutting a jagged hole, then shoved out the section of the wall I'd carved out. I could only hope the whole thing fell down before the owners came back and wondered what made the big hole in their wall.

A moment later I regretted my hope as the house did collapse - just sagged inwards, the roof falling down on the rest of the house, then sinking into the foundation. I looked down at the struggling dog in my arms. The quakes were starting to diminish now… I flashed down the street and left it just outside of town, hoping it would be smart enough to find its way to its owners when they returned.

I ran over to Heather's house and stopped in disbelief, screeching to a stop in front of it. Not a tile on the roof had been displaced. It was sitting there, placid and elegant in the darkness, completely undisturbed by the violence around it. That was kind of… ironic. In a weird way. I shrugged and turned away, dashing back through the town. I was out of jail, (thanks to my deal with Charlie). The worst of the earthquake was over. The people of Forks were safe. Heather was safe… and that's all that really mattered.


	10. Chapter 10

HEATHER

The news was plastered all over the headlines the next morning - fortunately for my sanity. I'd been tossing and turning all night… Jacob hadn't called, what could have gone wrong? Then Drew sent for the paper in our hotel room. When it arrived I almost fainted in relief: MYSTERIOUS, UNPREDICTED EARTHQUAKE HITS FORKS was the main headline. In smaller letters below: Forks Evacuated by Miraculous Tip. All had been successful then - Jacob hadn't been caught, nothing had gone wrong.

"But why hasn't he called?" I sank back onto the bed and bounced up and down on the thin hotel blankets.

The crackling of paper told me Drew had folded the newspaper - the article was over. "I don't know. Maybe his phone is out?" He came over and sat next to me, one hand on my shoulder to stop my nervous bouncing. "Look, I'll take you shopping today - we can go check on the animals in that pet sitting place - and if he hasn't called by the end of the day I'll drive back up to Forks and see what's going on, okay?"

"But what if it's not safe still?" I protested. "There could be falling buildings, and fires, and… and…"

I blinked as he shoved a stack of clothes into my hands. "Get dressed."

"Fine." I pouted as I began pulling off my pajamas. "But it's your own damn fault if you die."

Drew sat down on his own bed across the room and his rustling clothing showed he was getting dressed as well. "You know, that's something I've been kind of curious about for a while."

"What?" I pulled on the black leather boots again and started working a brush through my hair.

"You weren't worried at all to let Jacob stay in Forks - it's like you think he's invincible or something. He may be tall and muscular, but that doesn't mean he can't be killed by a falling light pole or something."

I frowned, trying to think of the right way to phrase my answer. "Well… Jacob has this weird thing - you know how in X-men, Wolverine can heal really fast?"

"Yeah." Drew laughed suddenly. "You're saying that Jacob is a superhero?"

"Er… not exactly. He has this genetic ability to heal more quickly than the average human. He told me about it last week. That's why I'm not quite so worried about him. Of course, I'm nearly frantic now that he hasn't called me."

"Hmm." Drew looked puzzled for a moment, then shrugged. "I guess it's possible. People are born with abnormal mental abilities all the time - why not abnormal physical ones as well? I don't suppose he'd let some of my friends conduct a few tests on him? I'm sure a biologist would be interested…"

"No!" I almost shouted the word. Then I smiled nervously. "Um… too much publicity. He's a very solitary guy at heart."

"Right." Drew sat down beside me. "Ready to go? Your pets are probably missing you."

"Yeah, let me grab my cell phone." I turned it to the highest volume again and stuck it into an easily accessible pocket. "Okay, let's go."

JACOB

I was in such a hurry that I almost flashed past Charlie and Billy without realizing it. I screeched to a stop and backtracked a few paces, then stopped and waved cheerfully. "Morning Billy, Charlie. Have a pleasant night?"

"You mean between all the banging and clanging and spraying noises you boys have been making?" Billy looked tired and bored. "Are you nearly finished?"

"You know, as weird as this may sound, it's difficult to put an entire town back together in twenty-four hours… even if we are were -" I stopped and looked at Charlie. "Um, even if we are exceptionally tall and strong."

"All you need to do is get rid of the danger zones so people can come back and begin their own construction," said Billy. "I demand that you let Charlie and I return to the house. I need to be directing operations."

"I could argue with that, but there's no time," I said. "Where's Leah?"

"Off in the woods somewhere," said Billy impatiently.

"When she gets back, let her know that you two can now be safely returned to the house. Embry and Seth spent a couple of hours fortifying the structure, so it should be perfectly sound." I turned to Charlie. "How are you doing?"

His color looked a lot better than it had the last time he'd seen me, though he was staring at me now with wide eyes. "I have a feeling that you guys are going to tell me not to speak of the strange things your family is capable of?"

"Sure, sure," I said. "Use your discretion. Look, I need my cell phone back. I just remembered - I never called Heather, all day yesterday and the day before. She'll be frantic."

"Oh. Well…" Charlie looked faintly embarrassed.

"It's still in the police building," I guessed with a sigh. "Thanks, Charlie."

I turned, nodding to Leah as I flashed past her and into the woods. I cut through the Cullen's now-empty property, cringing as I passed the borderline. Old habits die hard. I'd almost reached Forks when impatience overcame me and I phased. Immediately Sam's persistent voice hit my mind.

_Jake, there you are. Listen - something really weird happened. You know how Emily had a little workshop of her own behind our house? _

_Yeah, I said, confused. I take it this is relevant somehow?_

_Well, our whole house got completely wrecked, but her shop remained untouched. A tree fell on top of it and nothing inside even got jarred. Sam sounded mystified and excited - like he always sounded when he was making new discoveries about the Pack issues._

_Weird, I said. Then I froze in my tracks, right in the middle of Main Street. Wait a second… Heather's house was directly in the path of the earthquake and it wasn't touched either. _

_Claire's house wasn't damaged either, Sam replied. I talked to the Pack, and none of the other imprint's houses got damaged in the slightest. _

_Strange… I started off down the street again at a slower pace, thinking. Do you suppose it has something to do with… what? I can't think of any explanations. _

_We were thinking maybe some of the invulnerability of werewolves is spread to their imprints, through their bond,_ said Sam. _But we're not really sure. _

_Hmm. Well, we'll have to experiment later._

Sam snorted. _Yeah, right. Who out of us is going to let his imprint be subject to experiments testing her invulnerability? _

_True. A surge of protective anger flared hot in me at the very thought of voluntarily putting Heather in any sort of danger. Guess we'll just leave it a mystery, then. It's a little comforting, though. _

_Yeah. Well, go do your thing, man. I know Heather's probably worried. _

_Thanks. Seeya, Sam. _

I had reached the police station by now, and I quickly phased into my human form, slipped on my shorts and stepped inside. The building had miraculously stayed standing, somehow, but the inside was an absolute wreck. I had to kick through several ceiling beams and sneeze my way through acres of dust before I reached Charlie's desk. The desk had fallen over, there were papers everywhere and everything was smashed to bits. Including my cell phone. I groaned and picked at the pieces hopelessly. Maybe… Heather had a house phone.

I dashed through the streets to her house, barely pausing to push the locked door open with my shoulder. I could always blame it on the earthquake later. I picked up her phone, closed my eyes to recall her number and dialed quickly.

The phone rang four times and I was about to hang up when Heather's breathless, puzzled voice answered the phone.

"Hello? Who is this?" Her voice trailed off in a giggle. "Stop that, I'm on the… that tickles!" she said to someone.

I couldn't help a flash of heat and a growl. "Heather? You'd better be with your brother."

"Jacob!" Genuine relief and joy colored her tone, then the background noises faded, and I heard the anger in her voice. "Why the hell didn't you call me! You son of a bitch! Bastard! Do you realize how worried I was? I thought you were… dead, or sick, or… I just didn't know, okay? I hated not knowing. Why didn't you call?"

I wished I was with her - I wanted to sweep her up in my arms, kiss her worries and anger away, make everything better. Instead I made my voice light and gentle. "Shh, Heather, it's okay now. I'm sorry, but Charlie took my phone and then it was broken and… well, it's a long story. But everything's fine, I promise."

"Yeah, well I sure as hell hope you've got a lot of roses, because it'll take a lot more than 'I'm sorry' to make me forgive you."

There was a long silence, and I slowly grinned. I knew she'd break down first. Finally she expelled a long breath. I could practically hear her rolling her eyes.

"Okay… Jacob, I forgive you." She paused, then her tone softened. "I love you. I'm glad you're safe. I was so worried."

"I'm sorry," I said again. "Look, it seems like you'll be able to move back a lot sooner than I'd thought. As long as either Drew or I are with you the whole time, Forks should be safe. Your house survived undamaged."

"Really?"

"Yeah." I chuckled. "Well, okay… there's this mysterious hole in one of the pillars on the porch, and apparently somebody forced the door open, but nothing too catastrophic."

"Jacob." All the anger was gone now, leaving only fond exasperation. "Are you in my house right now?"

"Um… would you believe me if I said no?" I asked hopefully.

"Most definitively not," she said with a soft laugh. "When can I come home?"

"Tell Drew… tomorrow afternoon at the earliest," I said. "The Pack is still trying to secure the town, making sure nothing's going to collapse on people."

"Won't there be lots of reporters and people?" she asked anxiously.

"Maybe, but not near your house. You're lucky - you're the only house on a very quiet, back street." I laughed. "I might be hiding out at your house to get away from the publicity, in fact."

"Well." She stopped for a moment. "I love you, Jacob."

"I love you too. See you soon. I'll call you."

"You'd better."

She hung up and I stared at the phone for a long time, shaking my head and grinning foolishly. Heather was the best thing that had ever happened to me, earthquake and all. I headed out the door, suddenly invigorated. I had to get Forks ready for Heather's return.

Chapter Fifteen

HEATHER

I couldn't help myself - Drew's hand on one elbow and Dad's hand on the other couldn't even hold me down. I was hopping from foot to foot, energy bursting from me. This was how Jacob felt when he phased, I was sure of it.

"Heather, honey - he's not even in the hotel parking lot," said my mom, perplexed. She just didn't understand - Jacob was coming closer, and I could feel him. I could feel his pull, like a rubber band stretched from heart to heart, and it was getting looser and looser. I couldn't help it.

"But he's coming!" I replied.

"I know, dear," said my dad. "I'm just a little disturbed - you've only known this guy for a month. How can you be so sure?"

"Sure enough that I dragged you down to my hotel from Spokane to see him," I pointed out. "Besides, the guy's a hero! You saw yesterday's headlines… he saved Forks in the earthquake."

"That's true, Tony," my mother said gently. "Heather could do - has done - a lot worse."

I scowled. "Oh, right, drag up Caleb now and ruin my mood."

"Well, we're going to give this guy a chance," said my dad with a grin. "But only if you stop jumping."

My feet immediately planted to the earth. "He's coming," I said. "Look out the window now, mom."

My mom gasped in surprise as she glanced out the hotel window. "Heather… how did you know that? Have you developed psychic powers since we last saw you?"

I laughed nervously. "No. Now you guys, be really nice. I didn't tell Jacob you were going to be here, so if he's a little rude, just give him the benefit of the doubt."

"True gentlemen are kind at all times," said Drew in his stuffy teacher voice.

"Look who's talking," I said, poking his arm. "Okay, he's coming up the elevator… he's in the hall… he's outside the door, and…"

A thunderous knock shook the door and my dad's hand tightened on my arm.

"Heather? Heather, are you there?" Jacob's low, rumbling voice sent shivers through me.

Drew led me to the door and I pulled it open. I barely had time to register the blast of heat from Jacob's shaking form when he swept me up into his embrace. His arms provided a cage of protection around me as he pressed me up against the door frame, my legs dangling three feet above the ground. He was raining kisses on my cheeks, my neck, my forehead, landing on my lips at last. I melted into him, my legs wrapping instinctively around his flaming-hot body, sighing into his mouth as it pressed into mine. His calloused fingers passed along my cheek, up into my hair, anchored at the roots of my braid and held me still, kissing me even more thoroughly.

Finally he pulled reluctantly back, smiling against my lips slightly before expelling a huge sigh and letting me sink slowly to the ground.

"Heather," he breathed, sounding almost as blissfully happy as I felt. "Heather, I've missed you so much."

"Oh…" I swallowed, trying to expel the heat from my lips and cheeks as I remembered my parent's presence. "Um, Jacob - my parents were passing through Seattle and I thought this would be as good an opportunity as any for them to… um… meet you."

Jacob's arms froze around my body for an instant, then he sighed and leaned his forehead against mine. "Well, at least I can get it over with, finally." He flipped me around in his arms and propelled me forward, nodding to Drew as he passed through.

"Mr. and Mrs. Champion." I heard the charmy-smarmy smile in Jacob's face and shook my head with a grimace. "I was most fortunate a little less than a month ago to make the acquaintance of your daughter, Heather. She is a remarkable girl."

"Indeed." My dad didn't sound impressed. "Call me Tony. This is my wife, Ruth. I'm sure you've already met Drew?"

"Yes, indeed." Jacob grinned wryly. "We've… er… met."

"So Jacob, have a seat," my mother said with a gentle smile.

Jacob led me to the bed and sat down, pulling me unabashedly to his lap and wrapping his arms snugly around me. "I'm sorry, Tony and Ruth, if I seem a little possessive," he laughed. "It's just that I haven't held Heather for three days now, and I'm not going to let her go unless I have to."

"That's fine." My dad sounded a little appeased at this display of affection.

"Tell me, Jacob… what do you do for a living?" my mother asked politely.

"Well…" Jacob hesitated for a very long, tense moment. "I'm a mechanic, sort of. I do a lot of odd jobs for people around town." He must have seen the disapproval dawning on my parent's faces, so he added hastily: "I'm also Fork's fate-appointed protector… apparently."

I laughed nervously. "After that earthquake, it would certainly seem that way. I'm so proud of you, Jacob."

My parents were silent for a long time. Then my father said in a stiff voice: "Indeed."

HEATHER

"That was awful!" Jacob groaned, hitting his head repeatedly on the wheel of the car. It was raining, so he had brought the Rabbit instead of his bike, to my relief. And my parent's, I'm sure.

"Nonsense." I felt across the seat until I reached his leg and patted it. "I thought it went pretty well, considering. I mean, they loved Caleb when they first met him, and look how that turned out."

"They thought I was a stupid brute," he wailed. "They'll never approve of you and I."

"Of course they will," I assured him. "Believe it or not, that was my parents being nice. You should have seen them when I brought home my first high school date."

"They didn't even want to let you come home with me," said Jacob. "Did you see their faces when Drew said he wasn't going to be staying with you anymore?"

"No, I didn't," I said sharply.

"Sorry, Heather," Jacob said, immediately remorseful. "But still."

"At least Drew understands that I don't need him anymore," I pointed out. "He knows that you'll take care of me."

"He just wanted to get back to his job," Jacob scoffed. "No, your whole family hates me, and with good reason. Seriously, who am I to have a girl like you? I'm a werewolf, Heather. Vampires are my natural enemies - filthy, bloodsucking leeches. As long as you're with me you'll always be in danger. If I left you for even a second, there's no telling what could happen."

I bit my lip and scowled for a moment, then turned abruptly. "Jacob Black. You pull over right now." I held up my hand to forestall his protests. "I know it's raining. Pull over."

"But we're almost to Forks," Jacob said, then stopped. "Fine."

We swung over to the side of the road. I unbuckled myself and stepped out into the sheeting rain. I crossed my arms and leaned against the car, waiting. Jacob's warm arms enveloped me and lifted me up. He carried me off the road, leaping the barrier and down through some wild blackberry bushes, through the greenery. Suddenly the rain lessened and he stopped. We must have been under some trees. He set me down and framed my face with his hands, stroking my cheekbones with his thumb. I shook him off and poked him in the chest, prodding him forward until he came up against a tree trunk. I scrambled up until I was standing on his bent knees, level with his face. I scowled darkly and leaned forward.

"Jacob Black, you are my life. You are the one I should have loved in the past, the only one I love now, and the only one I could ever love in the future. I know you love me that much, and that you'll die protecting me, and I trust you. I feel safe with you. I love you. My parents will come around - but what if they don't? Who cares? It's just you and me, Jacob. Nobody else."

Jacob was quiet for a moment. "Does this mean you'll marry me?"

I scowled even harder and punched him on the shoulder. "No! You stop that! I'm being serious. I'll love you forever, and nobody can get in the way. I won't let your stupid misgivings get in the way of your own happiness, or mine."

There was a long silence, with only Jacob's chest rising and falling, pushing me up and down on top of him, and my panting gasps of breath, to break the silence.

Then he reached down, took me by the waist, and flipped me around. He thrust one knee forward, sat me down on top of it and leaned my back against the tree trunk. He leaned forward until I was completely enveloped by his warm, piney scent, mixed with the chilled, wet rainy smell.

"Heather," he sighed and his breath warmed my cold features. "You're so sexy when you're declaring your undying love." He lowered his lips to mine, nibbling my bottom lip, tracing his heated tongue over the outline of my upper lip, brushing his fingers across my face. "I've missed you so much."

"I've missed you t-" I gasped as his warm lips pressed against the icy, wet skin of my neck. "I've missed…" He traced back up to my mouth, enveloped my lips in his mouth and tongue. His hands trailed down my neck, down to my waist, pulling me closer to his solid body. "I've… missed…" My hands curled in his hair, pulling his mouth tighter to mine. I smoothed my hands down his back - he was wearing a shirt for once - rubbed the solid muscles in his shoulders, sighing into his mouth. "I've…" I couldn't even remember what I was saying.

"Heather, stop talking," he murmured against my mouth, then laced his fingers through my hair, anchoring my face to his, pressing me harder back against the tree trunk.

I decided to take his advice. I only had one more thing to say, and it was really important… I struggled to think past the haze of sensation, letting my head fall back as his lips passed down my neck - his finger hooked into the neckline of my blouse, pulling it far down below my collarbone, then tracing the newly exposed skin with his lips.

Ah! I remembered. I put my hands on either side of his head and pulled him away from my skin for a moment, panting, the grey mists in my head colored a vivid scarlet. "Jacob…" His fingers caressed the skin under my shirt, pulling it slowly up.

"Spit it out, Heather," he said with a grin.

"Jacob…" I sighed and wrapped my arms around his neck. "Jacob, I love you so much."

"I know." He brushed his lips over my eyelids. "Now shut up."

SIX MONTHS LATER…

HEATHER:

I sat in the kitchen, eyes closed, listening to Beauty and the Beast. I know, call me juvenile, but I really liked it. For some reason that I couldn't quite pin down, the pair really reminded me of Jacob and I. The story always made me smile, and I listened to it when I was missing Jacob. Which was pretty much whenever he wasn't with me.

I heard a knock on the door and stopped the CD, turning slightly. "Come in!" I called, listening intently. The door swung open and the footsteps that came in were masculine - but it didn't sound like Jacob.

"Jacob? Is that you?" My voice cracked a little and I tensed. Meth was under the kitchen table, a constant low growl sounding in her throat. Her body was tense, as well, against my leg, and her tail was definitely not wagging.

"Jacob? Who the hell is Jacob? Heather, it's me. Caleb."

The voice that sounded from the kitchen doorway made me catch my breath. It was a light tenor that now sounded remarkably weak when I compared it with Jacob's deep rumble. I groaned and placed my head in my hands. Just when everything in my life was perfect, along came the remnants of my worst nightmares.

"Hello, Caleb," I said softly. I grinned a little as I remembered something we'd happened upon a couple of weeks ago in a Reader's Digest. "Hey, want to know something interesting about your name, Caleb?" I asked innocently.

He was taken aback by the greeting. He was probably expecting tears or a hug or something. "Um… sure," he said warily.

"It actually means - are you ready for this? - 'rage like a dog.'" I laughed heartily. That had amused Jacob and I to no end. "Your parents must really have liked you as a baby."

He was spluttering, unsure of what to say now. He'd come in so sure of himself, so egotistical, just like he used to be. I remembered vaguely the arrogant tilt of his nose, the haughty tenor of his voice - I scowled. How could I ever have imagined myself in love with such a little shrew of a man?

"Why are you here, Caleb?" I asked tiredly, sobering suddenly. "You should leave before Jacob gets here if you want to get out alive."

"Look, Heather," he said swiftly, coming closer. "I really want you to train our dog. It's wetting the carpet all the time, and nobody can do anything about it. You're the best trainer on this continent, Heather."

Hmm. He did sound a little desperate - I heard an edge to his tone that made me smile grimly. "What on earth makes you believe even for a second that I'd be inclined to work with your dog?"

"Look, Heather, I'm sorry about… our past… but you can't let your feelings get in the way of a good business relationship," he said reasonably.

I sniffed. "What is that supposed to mean?"

"I can see it in your face, Heather," he said softly, sitting next to me. He placed a cool, fishy hand on my arm and I jerked away. "You know you're not over me."

I paused for a second, letting that remark sink in, then started howling with laughter. I couldn't help it. The thought of not being 'over' this man (this married man, by the way) when I had Jacob - warm, affectionate, generous, kind, amazing Jacob! - it was ludicrous. Caleb sat there staring at me, tense and puzzled, irritated.

When I could finally control my laughter I strained, still giggling a little, and shook my head. "I'm sorry, Caleb, it's just that - wow. I never realized you might think I was still carrying the old… er… flame." A helpless giggle escaped and I clamped my hand over my mouth.

"Why else would you refuse to train our dog?" he asked, still confused.

That sobered me up fast. I put on my best evil scowl and spoke each work slowly, as if he were dim-witted.

"I'm going to talk slow so you make sure and catch every word. This has nothing to do with my emotions. This has everything to do with ethics." I took a deep breath and leaned forward, fixing my gaze at where I knew his eyes would be. My blindness always creeped him out, so I used it to deliver my final line.

"I don't work for _assholes_."

Sudden loud applause filled the air and I started. In my intensity I hadn't even heard Jacob approaching. He was standing in the door of the kitchen, chuckling darkly and clapping.

"Couldn't have put it better myself, sweetheart," he said. He came up behind me and put his hands on my shoulders, bending to give me a heavy lip lock before rising up. I could feel him giving Caleb the evil eye.

"You have no idea how long I've waited to meet you," he said, leaning forward over my head.

"Caleb, you really should leave," I suggested quietly. "Right now."

Jacob growled, and Caleb rose hastily.

"I just came to ask an innocent question," he protested, stumbling in his quick retreat. "Just an innocent question," he mumbled, continuing out the door.

Jacob's deep voice halted him in the doorway. "Oh, and Caleb?"

"Er… yes?" Caleb's voice was laden with dread.

"I strongly suggest that you never, ever come back, because I will not hesitate to separate your arms from the rest of your body." Even I, who knew Jacob as a light-hearted, friendly guy, couldn't doubt the absolute, dead certainty in his ultimatum.

Jacob sat in his place and took my hands in his, and we laughed softly together as we heard the engine rev up in the driveway and the screeching of tires that signaled Caleb's hasty getaway.

"Will you marry me?" Jacob asked his daily question with a resigned tone, as if he already knew the answer.

Instead of giving my usual 'no,' I thought for a moment. "How long has it been since we met, Jacob?"

He looked at his watch briefly. "Six months, two weeks, three days, thirteen hours and twenty-seven minutes."

I paused for a moment at that. "Well, I was asking for more of a generalization, but I guess that works, too." I tugged at a lock of my hair, wrapping it around my finger, thinking. "Guess what I was doing before that jerk showed up?"

"I'd try, but I'll just get it wrong. I can never guess with you," said Jacob, grinning.

"I was listening to Beauty and the Beast," I said, stroking his hand slowly. "I was just thinking that the Beast really reminds me of you - but I couldn't think why. I think now that I've figured it out."

"This had better not be really insulting," he warned me. "Because I know all the ways to exact excruciating revenge."

I laughed. "Promises, promises. Anyway, it's not insulting. You remind me of him because - well, your personalities certainly have similarities, too, but - he proposes to Beauty every single day, without fail. He never gives up, even though he already knows her answer."

"Hmph." Jacob sounded disgruntled and sour. Pouting again. "Yeah, but the main difference is that Beauty eventually said yes, and you never do."

"Note the absence of a 'no' in this conversation," I said quickly.

His hand froze beneath mine, then he was suddenly on his knees, eyes burning into my face, hands closed firmly around mine. "Are you saying what I think you're saying?"

I hesitated a long moment, then nodded slowly. "Yes, Jacob. Yes - I will marry you. Yes. Yes!"

He pulled me down to him and wrapped me in an enormous hug, planted a long, steamy kiss on my lips, and pulled back, an huge grin emanating from his features. He set me gently on my feet, stood back, and just stared at me.

JACOB

She said _yes_! _Finally_!

Unable to help myself, I whirled my arm in the air, winding up, putting all my energy into it… and did a heavy-duty, first class, state-of-the-art, massive fist pump.


End file.
